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pillarmore about pillar

pillar

 

  4  definitions  found 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  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. 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Pillar  \Pil"lar\,  a.  (Mach.) 
  Having  a  support  in  the  form  of  a  pillar,  instead  of  legs; 
  as  a  pillar  drill. 
 
  From  WordNet  r  1.6  [wn]: 
 
  pillar 
  n  1:  a  fundamental  principle  or  practice;  "science  eroded  the 
  pillars  of  superstition" 
  2:  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"  [syn:  {column},  {tower}] 
  3:  a  prominent  supporter;  "he  is  a  pillar  of  the  community" 
  [syn:  {mainstay}] 
  4:  a  vertical  structure  standing  alone  and  not  supporting 
  anything  (as  a  monument  or  a  column  of  air)  [syn:  {column}] 
  5:  a  tall  cylindrical  vertical  upright  [syn:  {column}] 
 
  From  Easton's  1897  Bible  Dictionary  [easton]: 
 
  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).




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