What does Pilaster mean?

Definitions for Pilaster
pɪˈlæs tərpi·laster

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word Pilaster.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. pilasternoun

    a rectangular column that usually projects about a third of its width from the wall to which it is attached

Wiktionary

  1. pilasternoun

    A rectangular column that projects partially from the wall to which it attached; it gives the appearance of a support, but is only for decoration.

  2. Etymology: From pilastre, from pilastro.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. Pilasternoun

    A square column sometimes insulated, but oftner set within a wall, and only shewing a fourth or a fifth part of its thickness. Dict.

    Etymology: pilastre, Fr. pilastro, Italian.

    Pilasters must not be too tall and slender, lest they resemble pillars; nor too dwarfish and gross, lest they imitate the piles or piers of bridges. Henry Wotton.

    Bailt like a temple, where pilasters round
    Were set. John Milton.

    The curtain rises, and a new frontispiece is seen, joined to the great pilasters each side of the stage. Dryden.

    Clap four slices of pilaster on’t,
    That laid with bits of rustic makes a front. Alexander Pope.

Wikipedia

  1. Pilaster

    In classical architecture, a pilaster is an architectural element used to give the appearance of a supporting column and to articulate an extent of wall, with only an ornamental function. It consists of a flat surface raised from the main wall surface, usually treated as though it were a column, with a capital at the top, plinth (base) at the bottom, and the various other column elements. In contrast to a pilaster, an engaged column or buttress can support the structure of a wall and roof above. In human anatomy, a pilaster is a ridge that extends vertically across the femur, which is unique to modern humans. Its structural function is unclear.

ChatGPT

  1. pilaster

    A pilaster is an architectural feature used in classical design that resembles a flat or rectangular column projecting from a wall. It is purely decorative and doesn't support any structural load, often used to give the appearance of a supporting column and to articulate the wall, with a base, shaft, and a capital at the top.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Pilasternoun

    an upright architectural member right-angled in plan, constructionally a pier (See Pier, 1 (b)), but architecturally corresponding to a column, having capital, shaft, and base to agree with those of the columns of the same order. In most cases the projection from the wall is one third of its width, or less

  2. Etymology: [F. pilastre, It. pilastro, LL. pilastrum, fr. L. pila a pillar. See Pillar.]

Wikidata

  1. Pilaster

    A pilaster is a slightly projecting column built into or applied to the face of a wall. Most commonly flattened or rectangular in form, pilasters can also take a half-round form or the shape of any type of column, including tortile. Rounded examples are more often called engaged columns. In discussing Leon Battista Alberti's use of pilasters, which Alberti reintroduced into wall-architecture, Rudolf Wittkower wrote, "The pilaster is the logical transformation of the column for the decoration of a wall. It may be defined as a flattened column which has lost its three-dimensional and tactile value." A pilaster appears with a capital and entablature, also in "low-relief" or flattened against the wall. The pilaster is an architectural element in classical architecture used to give the appearance of a supporting column and to articulate an extent of wall, with only an ornamental function. In contrast, an engaged column or buttress can support the structure of a wall and roof above. Pilasters often appear on the sides of a door frame or window opening on the facade of a building, and are sometimes paired with columns or pillars set directly in front of them at some distance away from the wall, which support a roof structure above, such as a portico. These vertical elements can also be used to support a recessed archivolt around a doorway. The pilaster can be replaced by ornamental brackets supporting the entablature or a balcony over a doorway.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Pilaster

    pi-las′tėr, n. a square column, partly built into, partly projecting from a wall.—adj. Pilas′tered, furnished with pilasters or inserted pillars. [Fr. pilastre—It. pilastro—L. pīla, a pillar.]

Matched Categories

Anagrams for Pilaster »

  1. pilastre

  2. plaister

  3. plaiters

  4. replaits

  5. epistlar

  6. priestal

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Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of Pilaster in Chaldean Numerology is: 9

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of Pilaster in Pythagorean Numerology is: 1

Popularity rank by frequency of use

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Translations for Pilaster

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"Pilaster." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Mar. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/Pilaster>.

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