[1] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

pedestal \ped"estal\, n. sp. pedestal; cf. f. pi'edestal,
   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.
      1913 webster

            build him a pedestal, and say, "stand there"
                                                  --cowper.
      1913 webster

   2. hence: a short free-standing column or column-like object
      designed to support a work of art or other object; a
      column serving the same function as the base of a statue.
      it may be made of wood, marble, or other suitable
      material.
      pjc

   3. furniture a part of a desk which contains a frame and
      drawers, stands on the floor, and provides support for the
      desk surface. there may be zero, one, or two such
      pedestals in a desk.
      pjc

   4.
      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.
          1913 webster

   pedestal coil steam heating, a group of connected
      straight pipes arranged side by side and one above
      another, -- used in a radiator.
      1913 webster
see also:
foot stall footstall column pedestal coil 

[2] : WordNet (r) 2.0

pedestal
     n 1: a support or foundation; "the base of the lamp" syn: base,
           stand
     2: a position of great esteem and supposed superiority; "they
        put him on a pedestal"
     3: an architectural support or base as for a column or statue
        syn: plinth, footstall
see also:
base stand plinth footstall 

[3] : Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0

57 moby thesaurus words for "pedestal":
   aggrandize, apotheosize, baluster, balustrade, banister, base,
   caryatid, colonnade, column, dado, deify, die, dignify, elevate,
   ennoble, exalt, foot, footstalk, foundation, glorify, honor,
   idolize, jack, magnify, mounting, newel-post, pedicel, peduncle,
   pier, pilaster, pile, piling, pillar, platform, plinth, pole, post,
   queen-post, raise, revere, shaft, socle, staff, stalk, stanchion,
   stand, standard, stem, subbase, sublime, substructure, support,
   surbase, trunk, upright, uproar, worship

Pedestal >> P Words
Pedestal, definition of term: Pedestal
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