Hypertext Webster Gateway: "newel"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Newel \New"el\, n. [From {New}. Cf. {Novel}.]
A novelty; a new thing. [Obs.] --Spenser.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Newel \New"el\, n. [OF. nual, F. noyau sone, of fruit, noyau
d'escaler newel, fr. L. nucalis like a nut, fr. nux, nucis,
nut. Cf {Nowel} the inner wall of a mold, {Nucleus}..]
(Arch.)
The upright post about which the steps of a circular
staircase wind; hence, in stairs having straight flights, the
principal post at the foot of a staircase, or the secondary
ones at the landings. See {Hollow newel}, under {Hollow}.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
newel
n 1: the post at the top or bottom of a flight of stairs; it
supports the handrail [syn: {newel post}]
2: the central pillar of a circular staircase
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