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pyramids

 [pir-uh-mid]   Origin

pyr·a·mid

   [pir-uh-mid]
noun
1.
Architecture.
a.
(in ancient Egypt) a quadrilateral masonry mass having smooth, steeply sloping sides meeting at an apex, used as a tomb.
b.
(in ancient Egypt and pre-Columbian Central America) a quadrilateral masonry mass, stepped and sharply sloping, used as a tomb or a platform for a temple.
2.
anything of such form.
3.
a number of persons or things arranged or heaped up in this manner: a pyramid of acrobats; a pyramid of boxes.
4.
a system or structure resembling a pyramid, as in hierarchical form.
5.
Geometry. a solid having a polygonal base, and triangular sides that meet in a point.
EXPAND
6.
Crystallography. any form the planes of which intersect all three of the axes.
7.
Anatomy, Zoology. any of various parts or structures of pyramidal form.
8.
Also called pyramid scheme. a scheme that pyramids, as in speculating on the stock exchange or writing a chain letter.
9.
a tree pruned or trained to grow in conical form.
10.
pyramids, (used with a singular verb) British. a form of pocket billiards for two or four players in which 15 colored balls, initially placed in the form of a triangle, are pocketed with one white cue ball.
COLLAPSE
verb (used without object)
11.
to take, or become disposed in, the form of a pyramid.
12.
Stock Exchange. (in speculating on margin) to enlarge one's operations in a series of transactions, as on a continued rise or decline in price, by using profits in transactions not yet closed, and consequently not yet in hand, as margin for additional buying or selling in the next transaction.
13.
to increase gradually, as with the completion of each phase: Our problems are beginning to pyramid.

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Pyramids is always a great word to know.
So is interrobang. Does it mean:
a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
LEARN MORE UNUSUAL WORDS WITH WORD DYNAMO...
verb (used with object)
14.
to arrange in the form of a pyramid.
15.
to raise or increase (costs, wages, etc.) by adding amounts gradually.
16.
to cause to increase at a steady and progressive rate: New overseas markets have pyramided the company's profits.
17.
Stock Exchange. (in speculating on margin) to operate in, or employ in, pyramiding.
Origin:
1350–1400; < Latin pȳramid- (stem of pȳramis) < Greek pȳramís; replacing Middle English pyramis < Latin, as above

Related forms
pyr·a·mid·like, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

pyramid
1550s (earlier in L. form piramis, late 14c.), from Fr. pyramide (O.Fr. piramide, 12c.), from L. pyramides, pl. of pyramis "one of the pyramids of Egypt," from Gk. pyramis (pl. pyramides), apparently an alteration of Egyptian pimar "pyramid."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

pyramid pyr·a·mid (pĭr'ə-mĭd)
n.

  1. A solid figure with a polygonal base and triangular faces that meet at a common point.

  2. A structure or part shaped like a pyramid.

py·ram'i·dal (pĭ-rām'ĭ-dl) adj.

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

pyramids definition


A group of huge monuments in the desert of Egypt, built as burial vaults for ancient Egyptian kings. The age of pyramid building in Egypt began about 2700 b.c. (See under “World History to 1550.”)

pyramids definition


A group of huge monuments in the Egyptian desert, built as burial vaults for the pharaohs and one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The pyramids have square bases and four triangular faces. Pyramid building began in Egypt about 2700 b.c. and required vast amounts of slave labor.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia

pyramids

British pocket-billiards game in which 15 red balls are arranged in a pyramid formation to begin. Players use a white cue ball in attempting to pocket the reds, scoring one point for each; the player who scores the highest number of pocketed balls is the winner. Players lose a point and respot a red ball each time they pocket the cue ball or fail to contact a red ball. A player shoots until he fails to pocket a ball, and an opponent then continues play from the point at which the cue ball comes to rest. Pyramids was a forerunner of the game snooker.

Learn more about pyramids with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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