Megalith

Megalith and Megalithic : Origin of the Terms
mega-, lith- Indo-European roots Megalith and megalithic are compound words (mega-lith) formed from the hypothetical Indo-European *meg- (great, large, Greek μέγαs) plus Greek λίθος (stone). See also American Heritage Dictionary : Indo-European Roots Index.

According to the French Ministry of Culture, writing in its web pages about Great Archaeological Sites (in English), the term megalithic was first used in the year 1839. It was only in 1853 that the term megalith was used as a back formation from megalithic. The French Ministry of Culture writes:

"The word "megalithic" was first used in 1839 by the Reverend HERBERT, an English scholar.... In France, the word started to be commonly used around 1860 (its use was ratified by the 1867 International Anthropology Congress, in Paris).... The word "megalithic" refers either to: [1]building techniques using "large stones" (the original meaning), or to [2]groups of large ritual monuments dating back to prehistory, even when only some of the structures are actually megaliths (derived meaning)....  'Megalithic' monuments are ... found all over the world."

In common usage, a megalith is generally understood to be a large stone erected by ancient prehistoric man in the Neolithic and Early Bronze Age as a type of monument or marker whose precise purpose is disputed. One such megalith, e.g. a menhir, or a group of megaliths, e.g. a dolmen or a stone circle, separately or together with other features, such as tumuli or  barrows, can form a megalithic site.

Other Megalithic Terminology
Other important megalithic terms are:

Alignments Anthropomorphism Barrow Boundary Stone Cairn Capstone Cave Painting Cromlech Cup Marks viz. cupmarks Cursus Dolmen Earthwork Gallery Grave Henge Lintel Megalithic Chamber Megalithic Monument Megalithic Temple Menhir Monument Mound Passage Grave Orthostat Petroglyph Post and Lintel Quoit Rock Rock Art Rock Drawings Sarsen Standing Stone Stone Stone Circle Stone Row Stone Ship Stone Tomb Taula Tholos Trilithon Tumulus