pedestal : Dictionary / Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS, TU Chemnitz)

English Dictionary: pedestal	by the DICT Development Group
2 results for pedestal
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
pedestal n a support or foundation; "the base of the lamp" [syn: base, pedestal, stand] a position of great esteem (and supposed superiority); "they put him on a pedestal" an architectural support or base (as for a column or statue) Synonym(s): pedestal, plinth, footstall
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Pedestal \Ped"estal\, n. [Sp. pedestal; cf. F. pi[82]destal, It. piedestallo; fr. L. es, pedis, foot + OHG. stal standing place, station, place, akin to E. stall. See {Foot}, and {Stall}, and {Footstall}.] 1. (Arch.) The base or foot of a column, statue, vase, lamp, or the like; the part on which an upright work stands. It consists of three parts, the base, the die or dado, and the cornice or surbase molding. See Illust. of {Column}. Build him a pedestal, and say, [bd]Stand there![b8] --Cowper. 2. (a) (Railroad Cars) A casting secured to the frame of a truck and forming a jaw for holding a journal box. (b) (Mach.) A pillow block; a low housing. (c) (Bridge Building) An iron socket, or support, for the foot of a brace at the end of a truss where it rests on a pier. {Pedestal* coil} (steam Heating), a group of connected straight pipes arranged side by side and one above another, -- used in a radiator.