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Column

 - 6 dictionary results

col·umn

   [kol-uhm]
–noun
1.
Architecture.
a.
a rigid, relatively slender, upright support, composed of relatively few pieces.
b.
a decorative pillar, most often composed of stone and typically having a cylindrical or polygonal shaft with a capital and usually a base.
2.
any columnlike object, mass, or formation: a column of smoke.
3.
a vertical row or list: Add this column of figures.
4.
a vertical arrangement on a page of horizontal lines of type, usually typographically justified: There are three columns on this page.
5.
a regular feature or series of articles in a newspaper, magazine, or the like, usually having a readily identifiable heading and the byline of the writer or editor, that reports or comments upon a particular field of interest, as politics, theater, or etiquette, or which may contain letters from readers, answers to readers' queries, etc.
6.
a long, narrow formation of troops in which there are more members in line in the direction of movement than at right angles to the direction (distinguished from line).
7.
a formation of ships in single file.
8.
Botany. a columnlike structure in an orchid flower, composed of the united stamens and style.
Use Column in a Sentence
Origin:
1400–50; late ME columne < L columna, equiv. to colum(e)n peak + -a fem. ending; akin to excel; r. late ME colompne < AF < L, as above

—Related forms
columned  [kol-uhmd] , col·um·nat·ed  [kol-uhm-ney-tid] , adjective

—Synonyms
1. Column, pillar refer to upright supports in architectural structures. Pillar is the general word: the pillars supporting the roof. A column is a particular kind of pillar, esp. one with an identifiable shaft, base, and capital: columns of the Corinthian order.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
Cite This Source Link To Column
World English Dictionary
column (ˈkɒləm) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—n
1.  an upright post or pillar usually having a cylindrical shaft, a base, and a capital
2.  a.  a form or structure in the shape of a column: a column of air
 b.  a monument
3.  a row, line, or file, as of people in a queue
4.  military a narrow formation in which individuals or units follow one behind the other
5.  journalism
 a.  any of two or more vertical sections of type on a printed page, esp on a newspaper page
 b.  a regular article or feature in a paper: the fashion column
6.  a vertical array of numbers or mathematical terms
7.  botany a long structure in a flower, such as that of an orchid, consisting of the united stamens and style
8.  anatomy, zoology any elongated structure, such as a tract of grey matter in the spinal cord or the stalk of a crinoid
 
[C15: from Latin columna, from columen top, peak; related to Latin collis hill]
 
columnar
 
—adj
 
'columned
 
—adj
 
columnated
 
—adj

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Word Origin & History

column
c.1440, "vertical division of a page," from O.Fr. colombe, from L. columna "pillar," collateral form of columen "top, summit," from PIE base *kel- "to project" (see hill). Sense of "matter written for a newspaper" dates from 1785. Literal, architectural sense is attested from 1481.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

col·umn definition

Pronunciation: /ˈkäl-əm/
Function: n
: a longitudinal subdivision of the spinal cord that resembles a column or pillar: as
a : any of the principal longitudinal subdivisions of gray matter or white matter in each lateral half of the spinal cord see DORSAL HORN GRAY COLUMN LATERAL COLUMN 1, VENTRAL HORN compare FUNICULUS a,
b : any of a number of smaller bundles of spinal nerve fibers : FASCICULUS
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2007 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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column col·umn (kŏl'əm)
n.
Any of various tubular or pillarlike supporting structures in the body, such as the spinal column, each generally having a single tissue origin and function.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Computing Dictionary

column definition


1. A named slice through a database table that includes the same field of each row. For example, a telephone directory table might have a row for each person with a name column and a telephone number column.
2. A line of memory cells in a dynamic random-access memory, that is selected by a particular column address.
(2007-10-12)

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © Denis Howe 2010 http://foldoc.org
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