Hypertext Webster Gateway: "pillar"
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).
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Pillar \Pil"lar\, n. [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 Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Pillar \Pil"lar\, a. (Mach.)
Having a support in the form of a pillar, instead of legs;
as, a pillar drill.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
pillar
n 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: a tall cylindrical vertical upright [syn: {column}]
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