Definitions for: Pillar


[n] a tall cylindrical vertical upright
[n] a vertical structure standing alone and not supporting anything (as a monument or a column of air)
[n] a fundamental principle or practice; "science eroded the pillars of superstition"
[n] a prominent supporter; "he is a pillar of the community"
[n] anything tall and thin approximating the shape of a column or tower; "the test tube held a column of white powder"; "a tower of dust rose above the horizon"; "a thin pillar of smoke betrayed their campsite"



Webster (1913) Definition: Pil"lar, n. [OE. pilerF. pilier, LL. pilare, pilarium,
pilarius, fr. L. pila a pillar. See Pile a heap.]
1. 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.

Jacob set a pillar upon her grave. --Gen. xxxv.
20.

The place . . . vast and proud, Supported by a
hundred pillars stood. --Dryden.

2. 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. ``You
are a well-deserving pillar.'' --Shak.

By day a cloud, by night a pillar of fire. --Milton.

3. (R. C. Ch.) A portable ornamental column, formerly carried
before a cardinal, as emblematic of his support to the
church. [Obs.] --Skelton.

4. (Man.) The center of the volta, ring, or manege ground,
around which a horse turns.

From pillar to post, hither and thither; to and fro; from
one place or predicament to another; backward and forward.
[Colloq.]

Pillar saint. See Stylite.

Pillars of the fauces. See Fauces, 1.


Pil"lar, a. (Mach.)
Having a support in the form of a pillar, instead of legs;
as, a pillar drill.

Synonyms: column, column, mainstay, tower

See Also: admirer, atlas, booster, cap, capital, caryatid, champion, chapiter, construction, footstall, form, friend, newel, obelisk, pedestal, pilaster, pile, piling, plinth, principle, protagonist, rule, shaft, shape, spile, stilt, structure, support column, supporter, telamon, temple, totem pole, upright, vertical

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