menhir
/ˈmɛnˌ(h)ɪ(ə)ɹ/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.42 in modern English
11
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A single tall standing stone as a monument, especially one dating to prehistoric times.
Example Sentences
- "Near-synonym: orthostat"
- "[N]o time has passed since we lived in caves, grappled with fish at the reedy shore, buried our dead with a song, with red-ochre and pulled up our dolmens, temples and menhirs and standing stones to the glory of some indeterminate god or gods, […]"
- "On the coast tree ferns and pandanus palms. Inland termite menhirs seventeen feet high."
Etymology
PIE word *méǵh₂s Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *méǵh₂sder.? Proto-Celtic *maginos Proto-Brythonic *maɣɨnder. Breton maen Proto-Indo-European *seh₁- Proto-Indo-European *-rós Proto-Indo-European *seh₁-ró-s Proto-Celtic *sīros Proto-Brythonic *hirder. Breton hir Breton maen-hirbor. French menhirbor. English menhir Either borrowed from French menhir, or from its etymon Breton maen-hir, compound of maen (“stone”) + hir (“long”). Compare with Welsh maen hir, and Cornish men hir.
Word Breakdown
- Root: maen-hir
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈmɛnˌ(h)ɪ(ə)ɹ/
- British English: /ˈmɛnhɪə/