From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Pedestal \Ped"es*tal\, noun [Sp. pedestal; cf. F. pi['e]destal, It. piedestallo; fr. L. es, pedis, foot + OHG. stal standing place, station, place, akin to E. stall. See {Foot}, and {Stall}, and {Footstall}.]
1. (Arch.) The base or foot of a column, statue, vase, lamp, or the like; the part on which an upright work stands. It consists of three parts, the base, the die or dado, and the cornice or surbase molding. See Illust. of {Column}.
Build him a pedestal, and say, ''Stand there!'' --Cowper.
2. (a) (Railroad Cars) A casting secured to the frame of a truck and forming a jaw for holding a journal box. (b) (Mach.) A pillow block; a low housing. (c) (Bridge Building) An iron socket, or support, for the foot of a brace at the end of a truss where it rests on a pier.
{Pedestal coil} (steam Heating), a group of connected straight pipes arranged side by side and one above another, -- used in a radiator.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
noun
1: a support or foundation; "the base of the lamp" [syn: {base}, {stand}]
2: a position of great esteem (and supposed superiority); "they put him on a pedestal"
3: an architectural support or base (as for a column or statue) [syn: {plinth}, {footstall}]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
57 Moby Thesaurus words for "pedestal": aggrandize, apotheosize, baluster, balustrade, banister, base, caryatid, colonnade, column, dado, deify, die, dignify, elevate, ennoble, exalt, foot, footstalk, foundation, glorify, honor, idolize, jack, magnify, mounting, newel-post, pedicel, peduncle, pier, pilaster, pile, piling, pillar, platform, plinth, pole, post, queen-post, raise, revere, shaft, socle, staff, stalk, stanchion, stand, standard, stem, subbase, sublime, substructure, support, surbase, trunk, upright, uproar, worship
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