Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition

Pillar

Pil′lar

,
Noun.
[OE.
piler
F.
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.

Pil′lar

,
Adj.
(Mach.)
Having a support in the form of a pillar, instead of legs;
as, a
pillar
drill
.

Webster 1828 Edition

Pillar

PIL'LAR

,
Noun.
[L. pila, a pile, a pillar, a mortar and pestle. The L. pila denotes a heap, or things thrown, put or driven together.]
Literally, a pile or heap; hence,
1.
A kind or irregular column round an insulate, but deviating from the proportions of a just column. Pillars are either too massive or too slender for regular architecture; they are not restricted to any rules, and their parts and proportions are arbitrary. A square pillar is a massive work, called also a pier or piedroit, serving to support arches. &c.
2.
A supporter; that which sustains or upholds; that on which some superstructure rests. Gal.2.
3.
A monument raised to commemorate any person or remarkable transaction.
And Jacob set a pillar on her grave. Gen.35. 2 Sam.18.
4.
Something resembling a pillar; as a pillar of salt. Gen.19.
So a pillar of a cloud, a pillar of fire. Ex.13.
5.
Foundation; support. Job.9.
6.
In ships, a square or round timber fixed perpendicularly under the middle of the beams for supporting the decks.
7.
In the manege, the center of the volta, ring or manege ground, around which a horse turns. There are also pillars on the circumference or side, placed at certain distances by two and two.

Definition 2024

pillar

pillar

English

Beinecke library pillar
Pelham's pillar
Roman pillar ruin

Noun

pillar ‎(plural pillars)

  1. (architecture) A large post, often used as supporting architecture.
  2. Something resembling such a structure.
    a pillar of smoke
  3. An essential part of something that provides support.
    He's a pillar of the community.
  4. (Roman Catholic) A portable ornamental column, formerly carried before a cardinal, as emblematic of his support to the church.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Skelton to this entry?)
  5. The centre of the volta, ring, or manege ground, around which a horse turns.

Synonyms

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

pillar ‎(third-person singular simple present pillars, present participle pillaring, simple past and past participle pillared)

  1. To provide with pillars or added strength as if from pillars.
    • 1910, James Morgan, Blast furnace practice:
      Insufficient penetration, or faulty distribution of the blast, may give rise to "pillaring" — that is, the formation of a pillar or column of cold material extending up through the middle of the hearth
    • 1996, National Academy of Engineering, First annual Symposium on Frontiers of Engineering, page 25:
      We discovered this new class of compounds in our search for a means of generating porosity by pillaring layered double hydroxides
    • 1998, Functional and smart materials, page 226:
      In the pillaring-grafting reaction the dimensionality increases by pillaring the organic or precursory polynuclear metal hydroxyl cations into an inorganic layer structured matrix.
    • 2004, Scott M. Auerbach; Kathleen A. Carrado, Prabir K. Dutta, Handbook of layered materials, page 261:
      It was then that scientists started to create porosity in the interlayer space of layered clays. developing the first pillared clays with pores in the larger microporous region.

See also

Anagrams

Portuguese

Noun

pillar m (plural pillares)

  1. Obsolete spelling of pilar

Spanish

Etymology

Probably from Italian pigliare or French piller. Compare also Portuguese pilhar.

Verb

pillar ‎(first-person singular present pillo, first-person singular preterite pillé, past participle pillado)

  1. to catch, get
  2. to pilfer, steal
  3. (colloquial) to get (a joke)
  4. (colloquial) to catch, catch up to
  5. (colloquial) to catch (someone doing something illegal)
  6. (colloquial) to come down with, catch (an illness)

Conjugation

    Conjugation of pillar (See Appendix:Spanish verbs)edit data
infinitive pillar
gerund pillando
past participle masculine feminine
singular pillado pillada
plural pillados pilladas
singular plural
1st person 2nd person 3rd person 1st person 2nd person 3rd person
indicative yo tú
vos		 él/ella
usted		 nosotros
nosotras		 vosotros
vosotras		 ellos/ellas
ustedes
present pillo pillastú
pillásvos 		pilla pillamos pilláis pillan
imperfect pillaba pillabas pillaba pillábamos pillabais pillaban
preterite pillé pillaste pilló pillamos pillasteis pillaron
future pillaré pillarás pillará pillaremos pillaréis pillarán
conditional pillaría pillarías pillaría pillaríamos pillaríais pillarían
subjunctive yo tú
vos		 él/ella
usted		 nosotros
nosotras		 vosotros
vosotras		 ellos/ellas
ustedes
present pille pillestú
pillésvos1 		pille pillemos pilléis pillen
imperfect
(ra)		 pillara pillaras pillara pilláramos pillarais pillaran
imperfect
(se)		 pillase pillases pillase pillásemos pillaseis pillasen
future pillare pillares pillare pilláremos pillareis pillaren
imperative — tú
vos		 usted nosotros
nosotras		 vosotros
vosotras		 ustedes
affirmative pillatú
pillávos 		pille pillemos pillad pillen
negative no pilles no pille no pillemos no pilléis no pillen
1Argentine and Uruguayan voseo prefers the tú form for the present subjunctive.

Synonyms

Derived terms

Related terms

See also

Swedish

Verb

pillar

  1. present tense of pilla.

Etymology

From Middle English, a borrowing from Old French pilier , from Medieval Latin or Vulgar Latin *pilāre ‎(“a pillar”), from Latin pila ‎(“a pillar, pier, mole”).

Pronunciation

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