Pillar
['pɪlə] or ['pɪlɚ]
Definition
(noun.) a fundamental principle or practice; 'science eroded the pillars of superstition'.
(noun.) a prominent supporter; 'he is a pillar of the community'.
Checker: Sumner--From WordNet
Definition
(n.) The general and popular term for a firm, upright, insulated support for a superstructure; a pier, column, or post; also, a column or shaft not supporting a superstructure, as one erected for a monument or an ornament.
(n.) Figuratively, that which resembles such a pillar in appearance, character, or office; a supporter or mainstay; as, the Pillars of Hercules; a pillar of the state.
(n.) A portable ornamental column, formerly carried before a cardinal, as emblematic of his support to the church.
(n.) The center of the volta, ring, or manege ground, around which a horse turns.
(a.) Having a support in the form of a pillar, instead of legs; as, a pillar drill.
Inputed by Agnes
Synonyms and Synonymous
n. [1]. Column (for supporting something), shaft, post.[2]. Prop, support, supporter, maintainer.
Edited by Daisy
Synonyms and Antonyms
SYN:Column, shaft, post, support
Typist: Wesley
Definition
n. (archit.) a detached support differing from a column in that it is not necessarily cylindrical or of classical proportions: one who or anything that sustains: something resembling a pillar in appearance.—adj. Pill′ared supported by a pillar: having the form of a pillar.—ns. Pill′ar-box a short pillar in a street with receptacle for letters to be sent by post; Pill′arist Pill′ar-saint a person in the early church who crucified the flesh by living on the summit of pillars in the open air a stylite.—From pillar to post from one state of difficulty to another: hither and thither.
Checked by Jacques
Examples
- The lever and the pulley, lathe s, picks, saws, hammers, bronze operating-lances, sundials, water-clocks, the gnomon (a vertical pillar for determining the sun's altitude) were in use. Walter Libby. An Introduction to the History of Science.
- The ruins of Caesar's Palace, Pompey's Pillar, Cleopatra's Needle, the Catacombs, and ruins of ancient Alexandria will be found worth the visit. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- It is erected on a solid masonry pillar 14 by 7 feet at the base, which carries on its top, on trunnions, an oak beam 20 feet long and 12 by 14 inches thick. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- From the portico, from the eaves, from the parapet, from every ledge and post and pillar, drips the thawed snow. Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- Caliphronas, too startled to speak, stood looking blankly at the Demarch, pale as the marble pillar against which he leaned. Fergus Hume. The Island of Fantasy.
- The handle turned, the door unclosed, and passing through and curtseying low, I looked up at--a black pillar! Charlotte Bronte. Jane Eyre.
- Do you take me for a saint on a pillar? Edith Wharton. The House of Mirth.
- Strap him to that pillar, he shrieked. Edgar Rice Burroughs. A Princess of Mars.
- The chair below suddenly creaked again--I felt the trellis-work pillar under me shake from top to bottom. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- Bradley Headstone caught hold of a pillar behind him. Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- The chair creaked, and the pillar shook once more. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- I leaned upon a pillar and burst into tears. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- The mender of roads, and two hundred and fifty particular friends, stood with folded arms at the fountain, looking at the pillar of fire in the sky. Charles Dickens. A Tale of Two Cities.
- The pillar mounting allows of ready removal of chart attachment when it is not desired to use the same. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- But the pillar remained miraculously suspended in the air, and, unsupported itself, supported then and still supports the roof. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- Pillars are required under the center of the ice. William K. David. Secrets of Wise Men, Chemists and Great Physicians.
- The next thing he demanded was one of the hollow iron pillars; by which he meant my pocket pistols. Jonathan Swift. Gulliver's Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World.
- It seems, therefore, not incredible that the region abou t the Pillars of Hercules [Gibraltar] is connected with that of India, and that there is thus only one ocean. Walter Libby. An Introduction to the History of Science.
- Between these snow-white pillars hung heavy curtains of azure tint, embroidered with bizarre figures in yellow silk. Fergus Hume. The Island of Fantasy.
- She had taken a crayon from the tutor's desk, and was drawing little leaves, fragments of pillars, broken crosses, on the margin of the book. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- Here, in a new shrine--in a hall inlaid with precious stones, under a roof supported by pillars of gold--the moon-god was set up and worshipped. Wilkie Collins. The Moonstone.
- Some of the larger buildings had corners knocked off; pillars cut in two; cornices smashed; holes driven straight through the walls. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- These pillars are small, and doubtless the edifices they adorned were distinguished more for elegance than grandeur. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- The trunks remain still and firm as pillars, while the boughs sway to every breeze. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- Iron gates between granite pillars showed me where to enter, and passing through them, I found myself at once in the twilight of close-ranked trees. Charlotte Bronte. Jane Eyre.
- The two vertical strokes are thought to represent the Pillars of Hercules, which were stamped upon the coin itself. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- They have twelve small pillars, in St. Peter's, which came from Solomon's Temple. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- The ancients considered the Pillars of Hercules the head of navigation and the end of the world. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- This old dried-up reservoir is occupied by a few ghostly silk-spinners now, and one of them showed me a cross cut high up in one of the pillars. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- The portals of the great western front are bisected by square pillars. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
Editor: Percival