Adjacent Words

Pillar definitions

	Tweet

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

PIL'LAR, n. [L. pila, a pile, a pillar, a mortar and pestle. The L. pila denotes a heap, or things thrown, put or driven together.]
Literally, a pile or heap; hence,
1. A kind or irregular column round an insulate, but deviating from the proportions of a just column. Pillars are either too massive or too slender for regular architecture; they are not restricted to any rules, and their parts and proportions are arbitrary. A square pillar is a massive work, called also a pier or piedroit, serving to support arches. etc.
2. A supporter; that which sustains or upholds; that on which some superstructure rests. Galatians 2.
3. A monument raised to commemorate any person or remarkable transaction.
And Jacob set a pillar on her grave. Genesis 35. 1 Samuel 18.
4. Something resembling a pillar; as a pillar of salt. Genesis 19.
So a pillar of a cloud, a pillar of fire. Exodus 13.
5. Foundation; support. Job 9.
6. In ships, a square or round timber fixed perpendicularly under the middle of the beams for supporting the decks.
7. In the manege, the center of the volta, ring or manege ground, around which a horse turns. There are also pillars on the circumference or side, placed at certain distances by two and two.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a fundamental principle or practice; "science eroded the pillars of superstition"
2: anything that approximates 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" [syn: column, tower, pillar]
3: a prominent supporter; "he is a pillar of the community" [syn: pillar, mainstay]
4: a vertical cylindrical structure standing alone and not supporting anything (such as a monument) [syn: column, pillar]
5: (architecture) a tall vertical cylindrical structure standing upright and used to support a structure [syn: column, pillar]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English piler, from Anglo-French, from Medieval Latin pilare, from Latin pila Date: 13th century 1. a. a firm upright support for a superstructure ; post b. a usually ornamental column or shaft; especially one standing alone for a monument 2. a. a supporting, integral, or upstanding member or part <a pillar of society> b. a fundamental precept <the five pillars of Islam> 3. a solid mass of coal, rock, or ore left standing to support a mine roof 4. a body part that resembles a column • pillarless adjective II. transitive verb Date: 1607 to provide or strengthen with or as if with pillars

Britannica Concise

Any moth larvae (see larva) of the genus Malacosoma (family Lasiocampidae). Tent caterpillars are often brightly colored. The eastern tent caterpillar (M. americanum), of E N. America, spins huge, tent-shaped communal nests in tree crotches. Eggs the moth deposits on a tree in midsummer hatch in spring. The hatched caterpillars migrate to a crotch and construct a silken tent, which they leave each day throughout the summer to feed on the surrounding leaves. The forest tent caterpillar (M. disstria) is common in the S U.S.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 a a usu. slender vertical structure of wood, metal, or esp. stone used as a support for a roof etc. b a similar structure used for ornament. c a post supporting a structure. 2 a person regarded as a mainstay or support (a pillar of the faith; a pillar of strength). 3 an upright mass of air, water, rock, etc. (pillar of salt). 4 a solid mass of coal etc. left to support the roof of a mine. Phrases and idioms: from pillar to post (driven etc.) from one place to another; to and fro. pillar-box Brit. a public postbox shaped like a pillar. pillar-box red a bright red colour, as of pillar-boxes. Pillars of Hercules 1 two rocks on either side of the Strait of Gibraltar. 2 the ultimate limit. Derivatives: pillared adj. pillaret n. Etymology: ME & AF piler, OF pilier ult. f. L pila pillar

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Pillar 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.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

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

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(pillars) 1. A pillar is a tall solid structure, which is usually used to support part of a building. ...the pillars supporting the roof. = column N-COUNT 2. If something is the pillar of a system or agreement, it is the most important part of it or what makes it strong and successful. The pillar of her economic policy was keeping tight control over money supply. N-COUNT: usu N of n 3. If you describe someone as a pillar of society or as a pillar of the community, you approve of them because they play an important and active part in society or in the community. My father had been a pillar of the community. N-COUNT: N of n [approval]

Easton's Bible Dictionary

used to support a building (Judg. 16:26, 29); as a trophy or memorial (Gen. 28:18; 35:20; Ex. 24:4; 1 Sam. 15:12, A.V., "place," more correctly "monument," or "trophy of victory," as in 2 Sam. 18:18); of fire, by which the Divine Presence was manifested (Ex. 13:2). The "plain of the pillar" in Judg. 9:6 ought to be, as in the Revised Version, the "oak of the pillar", i.e., of the monument or stone set up by Joshua (24:26).

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

pil'-ar (matstsebhah, `ammudh; stulos): In a good many cases the Revised Version (British and American) substitutes "pillars" for the King James Version "images" (matstsebhoth, Ex 34:13; De 7:5; 1Ki 14:23, etc.). In Ge 19:26, where "pillar of salt" is given, the word is netsibh; in 1Sa 2:8 it is matsuq; while in most other single uses the Revised Version margin gives variant renderings, as in Jud 9:6 (mutstsabh), the Revised Version margin "garrison"; in 1Ki 10:12 (mic`adh), the Revised Version margin "`a railing,' Hebrew `a prop'"; in 2Ki 18:16 ('omenoth), the Revised Version margin "doorposts." The matstsebhoth were (1) memorial pillars, as in the "pillars" of Jacob at Bethel (Ge 28:18,22; compare Ge 31:13; 35:14), in covenant with Laban (Ge 31:45 ), at Rachel's grave (Ge 35:20); Absalom's pillar (2Sa 18:18). Such pillars were legitimate (theory of a fetishistic character is not grounded); it is predicted in Isa 19:19 that such a pillar would be set up to Yahweh at the border of Egypt. (2) Idolatrous pillars, in Canaanitish and other heathen worships. These were to be ruthlessly broken down (the King James Version "images," see above; Ex 23:24; 34:13; De 7:5, etc.; compare Le 26:1). See IMAGES. The other word, `ammudh, is used of the pillar of cloud and fire (see below); of the pillars of the tabernacle and temple (see under the word); of the two pillars JACHIN AND BOAZ (which see); poetically of the "pillars" of heaven, of earth (Job 9:6; 26:11; Ps 75:3; 99:7), etc. In the few instances of the word in the New Testament, the use is figurative. James, Cephas and John were reputed to be pillars" of the church at Jerusalem (Ga 2:9); the church is "the pillar and ground of the truth" (1Ti 3:15); he that overcomes is made "a pillar" in the temple of God (Re 3:12); a strong angel had feet "as pillars of fire" (Re 10:1).

Pillar of Cloud and Fire:

The visible manifestation of the divine presence in the journeyings of Israel at the time of the Exodus. Yahweh, it is narrated, went before the people "by day in a pillar of cloud, to lead them the way, and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light ..... The pillar of cloud by day, and the pillar of fire by night, departed not from before the people" (Ex 13:21,22; compare Ex 14:19,24; Nu 14:14). When the congregation was at rest, the cloud abode over the tabernacle (Ex 40:36; Nu 9:17; 14:14). When Yahweh wished to communicate His will to Moses, the pillar descended to the door of the Tent of Meeting (Ex 33:9-11; Nu 12:5; De 31:15). These descriptions are not to be rationalistically explained; what is depicted is a true theophany. Criticism has sought to establish discrepancies between the allusions to the cloud in the JE and the P parts of the narrative, but these are not made out without straining; e.g. it is not the case that JE alone represents Yahweh as speaking with Moses in the cloud at the door of the tabernacle. The same representation is found in Ex 29:42,43, ascribed to Pillar. An acute discussion of the alleged discrepancies may be seen in H.M. Wiener, Essays in Pentateuchal Criticism, 82 ff.

James Orr

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. 1. Column, columnar mass, pier, shaft, post. 2. Prop, support, supporter, maintainer, upholder.

Moby Thesaurus

antenna tower, arcade, arch, atlas, backbone, baluster, balustrade, banister, barbican, barrel, barrow, base, bedrock, belfry, bell tower, bole, boundary stone, brass, bust, cairn, campanile, caryatid, cask, cenotaph, champion, colonnade, colonnette, colossus, column, cromlech, cross, cup, cupola, cyclolith, cylinder, cylindroid, dado, defender, derrick, die, dolmen, dome, drum, fire tower, footstalk, footstone, foundation, grave, gravestone, headstone, hoarstone, inscription, jack, lantern, leader, lighthouse, mainstay, marker, martello, martello tower, mast, mausoleum, megalith, memento, memorial, memorial arch, memorial column, memorial statue, memorial stone, menhir, minaret, monolith, monument, mound, necrology, newel-post, obelisk, obituary, observation tower, pagoda, patron, patroness, pedestal, pedicel, peduncle, peristyle, pier, pilaster, pile, piling, pinnacle, pipe, plaque, plinth, pole, portico, post, prize, prop, protector, protectress, pylon, pyramid, queen-post, reliquary, remembrance, ribbon, rock, roll, roller, rostral column, rouleau, safekeeper, shaft, shrine, sinews, skyscraper, socle, spire, staff, stalk, stanchion, stand, standard, standpipe, steeple, stela, stem, stone, stupa, subbase, supporter, surbase, tablet, telamon, television mast, testimonial, tomb, tombstone, tope, tour, tower, tower of strength, trophy, trunk, tube, turret, upholder, upright, water tower, windmill tower, worthy