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

• bluestone

Further reading

• sarsen on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• Sernas, Narses, Nasers, SNAREs, Arnses, Nasser, RNases, snares, Snares, Saners

Middle English

Alternative forms

• sarcen, scarcen, saarcyn, sergen, scherchen

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

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

Descendants

• English: searce, sarse
• Scots: search

References

• “sārcen, v.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.