Pedestal
/ˈpɛdɪstəl/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Moderate ·High school level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The base or foot of a column, statue, vase, lamp.
- 2 a support or foundation wordnet
- 3 A place of reverence or honor. figuratively
"He has put his mother on a pedestal. You can't say a word against her."
- 4 an architectural support or base (as for a column or statue) wordnet
- 5 A casting secured to the frame of a truck of a railcar and forming a jaw for holding a journal box.
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- 6 a position of great esteem (and supposed superiority) wordnet
- 7 A pillow block; a low housing.
- 8 An iron socket, or support, for the foot of a brace at the end of a truss where it rests on a pier.
- 9 a pedestal coil, group of connected straight pipes arranged side by side and one above another, used in a radiator.
- 10 A ground-level housing for a passive connection point for underground cables.
- 11 The measured value when no input signal is given.
- 12 The central part of the cockpit, between the pilots, where various controls are located.
- 13 An item upon which television cameras are mounted.
- 14 The tough protuberant pad covering a dromedary's sternum, which, when the camel lies down, causes the abdomen to be slightly above the hot ground.
Verb
- 1 To set or support on (or as if on) a pedestal.
Example
More examples"A bust of Aristotle stands on a pedestal in the entryway."
Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French piédestal, itself borrowed from Italian piedistallo (literally “foot stand”). Spelling influenced by Latin pēs, pedem.