Drystane

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A wall made by fitting unmortared stones together so that they hold their own weight
2. A stone wall constructed without any binding mortar, relying on careful placement of each stone
3. Built from rough stones stacked without cement, a traditional field boundary common in upland Britain

Etymology: A drystane dyke is a wall built from stones laid without mortar, and the name is simply a compound of two Scots and northern English words. "Dry" carries its sense of "without moisture" here only loosely: the point is that no wet lime or cement binds the stones. "Stane" is the Scots form of "stone," descended from Old English "stān" and related to Old Norse "steinn." The second half of the name is the more surprising one. "Dyke" once meant a ditch, from Old English "dīc," and the wall took its name from the bank of earth and stone dug out beside it. Over time the word shifted from the trench to the barrier built from its spoil, and in Scotland "dyke" came to mean a wall of any kind, which is why the stone walls across the Borders and the Highlands still carry it.