sarsen

English

Etymology

From Saracen (“Muslim”), by extension, “non-Christian, pagan”.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈsɑː(ɹ)sən/
  • Audio:(file)

Noun

sarsen (plural sarsens)

  1. Any of various blocks of sandstone found in various locations in southern England.
    Synonyms: greywether, Saracen's stone, Saracen stone, Sarsden, Sarsden stone, sarsen stone
    • 1980, AA Book of British Villages, Drive Publications Ltd, page 42, concerning Avebury:
      The stones, called sarsens, came from the nearby Marlborough Downs, and all are naturally shaped.
    • 2020 July 29, Franz Lidz, “Whence Came Stonehenge’s Stones? Now We Know”, in New York Times‎[1]:
      The study pinpointed the source of the sarsens, a mystery that has long bedeviled geologists and archaeologists.

See also

Further reading

Anagrams

Middle English

Alternative forms

Etymology

From sars (“sieve”) +‎ -en (infinitival suffix).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈsarsən/, /ˈsaːrsən/

Verb

sarsen

  1. To sieve (filter with a sieve)

Conjugation

Conjugation of sarsen (weak in -ed)
infinitive (to) sarsen, sarse
present tense past tense
1st-person singular sarse sarsed
2nd-person singular sarsest sarsedest
3rd-person singular sarseth sarsed
subjunctive singular sarse
imperative singular —
plural1 sarsen, sarse sarseden, sarsede
imperative plural sarseth, sarse —
participles sarsynge, sarsende sarsed, ysarsed

1 Sometimes used as a formal 2nd-person singular.

Descendants

  • English: searce, sarse
  • Scots: search

References

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