Hypertext Webster Gateway: "pinnacle"
From Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary (easton)
Pinnacle
a little wing, (Matt. 4:5; Luke 4:9). On the southern side of
the temple court was a range of porches or cloisters forming
three arcades. At the south-eastern corner the roof of this
cloister was some 300 feet above the Kidron valley. The
pinnacle, some parapet or wing-like projection, was above this
roof, and hence at a great height, probably 350 feet or more
above the valley.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Pinnacle \Pin"na*cle\, n. [OE. pinacle, F. pinacle, L.
pinnaculum, fr. pinna pinnacle, feather. See {Pin} a peg.]
1. (Arch.) An architectural member, upright, and generally
ending in a small spire, -- used to finish a buttress, to
constitute a part in a proportion, as where pinnacles
flank a gable or spire, and the like. Pinnacles may be
considered primarily as added weight, where it is
necessary to resist the thrust of an arch, etc.
Some renowned metropolis With glistering spires and
pinnacles around. --Milton.
2. Anything resembling a pinnacle; a lofty peak; a pointed
summit.
Three silent pinnacles of aged snow. --Tennyson.
The slippery tops of human state, The gilded
pinnacles of fate. --Cowley.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Pinnacle \Pin"na*cle\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Pinnacled}; p. pr. &
vb. n. {Pinnacling}.]
To build or furnish with a pinnacle or pinnacles. --T.
Warton.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
pinnacle
n 1: (architecture) a slender upright spire at the top of a
buttress of tower
2: the highest level or degree attainable: "his landscapes were
deemed the acme of beauty"; "the artist's gifts are at
their acme"; "at the height of her career"; "the peak of
perfection"; "summer was at its peak"; "...catapulted
Einstein to the pinnacle of fame"; "the summit of his
ambition"; "so many highest superlatives achieved by man";
"at the top of his profession" [syn: {acme}, {height}, {elevation},
{peak}, {summit}, {superlative}, {top}]
3: a lofty peak
v 1: set on or as if on a pinnacle; "pinnacle a pediment"
2: raise on or as if on a pinnacle: "He did not want to be
pinnacled"
Additional Hypertext Webster Gateway Lookup
Gateway by dict@stokkie.net
stock only wrote the gateway and does not have any control over the contents;
see the Webster Gateway FAQ,
and also the Back-end/database links and credits.