What does cromlech mean?
A cromlech is a prehistoric megalithic monument, most commonly understood as a burial chamber built from large upright stones roofed by one or more massive capstones — a structure now more often called a dolmen. In some regions, particularly Wales and Brittany, the word was also applied to circles or other arrangements of standing stones, giving it a broader, looser meaning than its archaeological successors. Borrowed from Welsh in the late sixteenth century, 'cromlech' combines 'crom', meaning bent, arched, or stooped, with 'lech', a flat stone, so the name evokes the arching slab that crowns these monuments. The word appears mainly in historical, archaeological, and travel writing, where it lends an antiquarian flavour to descriptions of Neolithic landscapes. Although still encountered in older literature and popular accounts of ancient sites, it has largely been superseded by technically precise terms such as 'dolmen', 'portal tomb', and 'stone circle'.
nounA cromlech is a prehistoric monument consisting of a circle or arrangement of standing stones, especially a dolmen — a megalithic tomb formed by large upright stones supporting a capstone.
- A megalithic tomb consisting of upright stones capped by a horizontal slab; now usually called a dolmen.
- More broadly, a circle or arrangement of standing stones of prehistoric date.
"Hikers paused at the weathered cromlech on the hillside, wondering what ceremonies its builders had performed there four thousand years ago."
"The farmers had long used the cromlech as a landmark, never suspecting it marked a burial place older than the pyramids."
"Archaeologists surveyed the cromlech, recording the position of each fallen orthostat before the winter rains."
The standard plural simply adds -s; no irregular plural exists.
"The region contains several cromlechs dating from the Neolithic period."
The word comes straight from Welsh: 'crom' (bent or arched) and 'lech' (flat stone) — so every cromlech's name literally describes its own capstone resting like an arch over the earth.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of cromlech
Cromlech entered English from Welsh in the late sixteenth century, making it one of the earlier Celtic loanwords applied to British antiquities. It derives from Welsh 'crom', meaning bent, crooked, or arched, combined with 'lech', denoting a flat or flag stone — a description of the great capstone that arches over the uprights of these monuments. Related terms from the same archaeological vocabulary include 'carn' (cairn), another Welsh borrowing describing prehistoric stone monuments. As archaeological classification matured in the nineteenth century, the word's ambiguity led to its gradual replacement by 'dolmen', borrowed from Breton, for the chamber-tomb sense.
How cromlech is actually used
The term is chiefly historical and archaeological, and in British usage it traditionally denoted a dolmen (a chamber tomb), while in Brittany and parts of Wales it could denote a stone circle. Because of this ambiguity, modern archaeologists prefer precise terms such as 'dolmen', 'portal tomb', or 'stone circle'. The plural is 'cromlechs'; the variant spelling 'cromleh' is rare. The word carries a scholarly, slightly antiquarian tone today.
Easily confused with cromlech
A dolden—properly dolmen—is specifically a tomb chamber of upright stones capped by a slab, whereas 'cromlech' can refer either to such a tomb or more broadly to a circle or arrangement of standing stones; in modern archaeology 'dolmen' has largely replaced 'cromlech' for the tomb form.
A menhir is a single upright standing stone, while a cromlech involves multiple stones arranged together.