From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Pillar \Pil"lar\, adjective (Mach.) Having a support in the form of a pillar, instead of legs; as, a pillar drill.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Pillar \Pil"lar\, noun [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 WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
noun
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: (architeture) a tall cylindrical vertical upright and used to support a structure [syn: {column}]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
152 Moby Thesaurus words for "pillar": 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
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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