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Definition of pillar - 9 dictionary results

pil⋅lar

  [pil-er]
Use pillar in a Sentence
–noun
1. an upright shaft or structure, of stone, brick, or other material, relatively slender in proportion to its height, and of any shape in section, used as a building support, or standing alone, as for a monument: Gothic pillars; a pillar to commemorate Columbus.
2. a natural formation resembling such a construction: a pillar of rock; a pillar of smoke.
3. any upright, supporting part; post: the pillar of a table.
4. a person who is a chief supporter of a society, state, institution, etc.: a pillar of the community.
5. Horology. any of several short parts for spacing and keeping in the proper relative positions two plates holding the bearings of a watch or clock movement.
6. Mining. an isolated mass of rock or ore in a mine, usually serving as a roof support in early operations and later removed, wholly or in part.
7. Nautical. mast 1 (def. 2).
–verb (used with object)
8. to provide or support with pillars.
—Idiom
9. from pillar to post,
a. aimlessly from place to place.
b. uneasily from one bad situation or predicament to another.
Origin:
1175–1225; ME pillare < ML pīlāre (see pile 1 , -ar 2 ); r. earlier piler < OF < ML, as above

Related forms:
pillared, adjective
pil⋅lar⋅like, adjective

Synonyms:
1. pilaster, pier. See column.

mast

1  [mast, mahst]
–noun
1. Nautical.
a. a spar or structure rising above the hull and upper portions of a ship or boat to hold sails, spars, rigging, booms, signals, etc., at some point on the fore-and-aft line, as a foremast or mainmast.
b. any of a number of individual spars composing such a structure, as a topmast supported on trestletrees at the head of a lower mast.
c. any of various portions of a single spar that are beside particular sails, as a top-gallant mast and royal mast formed as a single spar.
2. Also called pillar. the upright support of a jib crane.
3. any upright pole, as a support for an aerial, a post in certain cranes, etc.
–verb (used with object)
4. to provide with a mast or masts.
—Idiom
5. before the mast, Nautical. as an unlicensed sailor: He served several years before the mast.
Origin:
bef. 900; ME; OE mæst; c. G Mast; akin to L mālus pole

Related forms:
mastless, adjective
mastlike, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To pillar
pil·lar   (pĭl'ər)   
n.  

    1. A slender, freestanding, vertical support; a column.

    2. Such a structure or one similar to it used for decoration.

  2. One who occupies a central or responsible position: a pillar of the state.

tr.v.   pil·lared, pil·lar·ing, pil·lars
To support or decorate with pillars or a pillar.

[Middle English, from Old French pilier, from Medieval Latin pīlāre, from Latin pīla.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

mast  (1)
"long pole on a ship to support the sail," O.E. mæst, from P.Gmc. *mastaz (cf. O.N. mastr, Du., Ger. mast), from PIE *mazdos "a pole, rod" (cf. L. malus "mast," O.Ir. matan "club," Ir. maide "a stick," O.C.S. mostu "bridge"). Masthead is from 1748 as "top of a ship's mast" (the place for the display of flags), hence, from 1838, "top of a newspaper." The single mast of an old ship was the boundary between quarters of officers and crew, hence before the mast in the title of Dana's book, etc.

pillar 
c.1225, from O.Fr. piler, from M.L. pilare, from L. pila "pillar, stone barrier." Fig. sense of "prop or support of an institution or community" is first recorded c.1325. Phrase pillar to post is c.1600, originally of tennis, exact meaning obscure.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: MAST
Function: abbreviation
military antishock trousers

Main Entry: pil·lar
Pronunciation: 'pil-&r
Function: noun
: a body part likened to a pillar or column (as the margin of the external inguinalring); specifically : PILLAR OF THE FAUCES
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

pillar pil·lar (pĭl'ər)
n.
A structure or part that provides support and resembles a column or pillar.

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

Pillar

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).

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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