Pedestal
['pedɪst(ə)l] or ['pɛdɪstl]
Definition
(noun.) an architectural support or base (as for a column or statue).
(noun.) a position of great esteem (and supposed superiority); 'they put him on a pedestal'.
Edited by Emily--From WordNet
Definition
(n.) The base or foot of a column, statue, vase, lamp, or the like; the part on which an upright work stands. It consists of three parts, the base, the die or dado, and the cornice or surbase molding. See Illust. of Column.
(n.) A casting secured to the frame of a truck and forming a jaw for holding a journal box.
(n.) A pillow block; a low housing.
(n.) An iron socket, or support, for the foot of a brace at the end of a truss where it rests on a pier.
Checker: Rudolph
Definition
n. anything that serves as a foot or a support: the foot or base of a pillar &c.: the fixed casting which holds the brasses in which a shaft turns called also Axle-guard or Pillow-block.—v.t. to place on a pedestal.
Typist: Vilma
Examples
- All was quiet with him, save that a long inscription had appeared that morning upon the pedestal of the sundial. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
- Without pedestal--so high--' he measured with his hand--'with pedestal, so--' He looked at her steadily. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- It stood on a small pedestal table with an old dressing-gown of Holmes's so draped round it that the illusion from the street was absolutely perfect. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
- Ah--which is the bust and which is the pedestal? Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- We had an open lamp, and when we opened the pedestal, it blew the doors off, and blew out the windows, and knocked me down, and the other man. Frank Lewis Dyer. Edison, His Life and Inventions.
- On that granite pedestal a cast-iron pier was raised to a height of 100 feet, the level of the roadway of the rails. Frederick C. Bakewell. Great Facts.
- He saw on the pedestal, that the piece was called 'Lady Godiva. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- She is the companion of the gods, the joy of heaven, the light of the earth, the pedestal of justice, and the basis of good policy. Benjamin Franklin. Memoirs of Benjamin Franklin.
- More remarkable by being so removed from the crowd it was among than if it had been lifted on a pedestal to be seen, the figure attracted all eyes. Charles Dickens. Little Dorrit.
- Mr Boffin, declining rum, being still elevated on his pedestal, was in a convenient position to be addressed. Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- She dropped her watering-pot and stepped down from the pedestal. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- She was close to the inscription on the side of the pedestal. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- I cried, leaping to the Pedestal of Truth once more. Edgar Rice Burroughs. The Gods of Mars.
- I stopped before the pedestal from which the cross rose. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- Finally I opened the pedestal--a storehouse for tools, etc. Frank Lewis Dyer. Edison, His Life and Inventions.
Typist: Pansy