English
cromlech
Cromlech comes from Welsh cromlech, from llech ‘flagstone, slab of stone’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pleh₂- ‘flat’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pleh₂-‘flat’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*pl̥keh₂reconstructed
- Proto-Celticc. 1300–800 BCE*ɸlikkā‘stone’reconstructed
- Proto-Brythonicc. 100 BCE–500 CE*llex‘stone’reconstructed
- Middle Welshc. 1150–1500llechnext step skipped: Breton cromlec'h
- Welshc. 1500–presentllech‘flagstone, slab of stone’
- Welsh, derivedc. 1500–presentcromlech
- Englishearliest quotation 1881cromlech
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pleh₂-‘flat’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*pl̥keh₂reconstructed
- Proto-Celticc. 1300–800 BCE*ɸlikkā‘stone’reconstructed
- Proto-Brythonicc. 100 BCE–500 CE*llex‘stone’reconstructed
- Middle Welshc. 1150–1500llechnext step skipped: Breton cromlec'h
- Welshc. 1500–presentllech‘flagstone, slab of stone’
- Welsh, derivedc. 1500–presentcromlech
- Englishearliest quotation 1881cromlech
Earliest quotation: 1881, Wirt Sikes, British Goblins: “The korreds are supposed to live in the cromlechs,…”
The story
Sense 1 (‘stone circle’) is from Breton cromlec'h, krommlec'h probably from Welsh cromlech: see above.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *pleh₂- ‘flat’
field, floor, explain, plane, explanation, plain, palm, clan, explanatory, archipelago, playa, fluke, placenta, planar, parma, palatine, esplanade, flounder, placate, plantar, pelagic, flay, polonium, implacable, veld, llano, floe, planta, purdah, 49 more
Today it means
noun Synonym of stone circle (“a prehistoric monument consisting of standing stones arranged in a circle”), especially one located in Brittany, France.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *pleh₂- / cromlech