a boulder of silicified sandstone, probably of Tertiary age, found in large numbers in S England
2.
such a stone used in a megalithic monument
Also called: greywether
Word origin
C17: probably a variant of Saracen
sarsen in American English
(ˈsɑːrsən)
noun
any of numerous large sandstone blocks or fragments found in south-central England, probably remnants of eroded Tertiary beds
Also called: Druid stone, graywether
Word origin
[1635–45; syncopated var. of saracen, short for Saracen boulder Druid stone]This word is first recorded in the period 1635–45. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: coordinate, gradient, intaglio, reaction, recruit
Examples of 'sarsen' in a sentence
sarsen
The likely candidate is another oddly shaped sarsen called stone 16.
Times, Sunday Times (2018)
But the origins of the larger pillars—blocks of a sandstone called sarsen, which weigh 25 tons on average—remain uncertain.
2019, 'A Missing Piece of Stonehenge Has Been Returned to the U.K.', Smithsonianhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/missing-piece-stonehenge-has-been-returned-uk-180972142/