COLUMN
column, pillar
(noun) (architecture) a tall vertical cylindrical structure standing upright and used to support a structure
column, pillar
(noun) a vertical cylindrical structure standing alone and not supporting anything (such as a monument)
column, chromatography column
(noun) a vertical glass tube used in column chromatography; a mixture is poured in the top and washed through a stationary substance where components of the mixture are adsorbed selectively to form colored bands
column
(noun) any tubular or pillar-like supporting structure in the body
column
(noun) a page or text that is vertically divided; “the newspaper devoted several columns to the subject”; “the bookkeeper used pages that were divided into columns”
column, editorial, newspaper column
(noun) an article giving opinions or perspectives
column
(noun) a line of units following one after another
column
(noun) a vertical array of numbers or other information; “he added a column of numbers”
column, tower, pillar
(noun) anything that approximates 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”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Noun
column (plural columns)
(architecture) A solid upright structure designed usually to support a larger structure above it, such as a roof or horizontal beam, but sometimes for decoration.
A vertical line of entries in a table, usually read from top to bottom.
A body of troops or army vehicles, usually strung out along a road.
A body of text meant to be read line by line, especially in printed material that has multiple adjacent such on a single page.
A unit of width, especially of advertisements, in a periodical, equivalent to the width of a usual column of text.
(by extension) A recurring feature in a periodical, especially an opinion piece, especially by a single author or small rotating group of authors, or on a single theme.
Something having similar vertical form or structure to the things mentioned above, such as a spinal column.
(botany) The gynostemium
(chemistry) An object used to separate the different components of a liquid or to purify chemical compounds.
Synonyms
• (upright structure): post, pillar, sile
Antonyms
• (line of table entries): row (which is horizontal)
Hypernyms
• (upright structure): beam
Source: Wiktionary
Col"umn, n. Etym: [L. columna, fr. columen, culmen, fr. cellere (used
only in comp.), akin to E. excel, and prob. to holm. See Holm, and
cf. Colonel.]
1. (Arch.)
Definition: A kind of pillar; a cylindrical or polygonal support for a
roof, ceiling, statue, etc., somewhat ornamented, and usually
composed of base, shaft, and capital. See Order.
2. Anything resembling, in form or position, a column an
architecture; an upright body or mass; a shaft or obelisk; as, a
column of air, of water, of mercury, etc. ; the Column VendĂ´me; the
spinal column.
3. (Mil.)
(a) A body of troops formed in ranks, one behind the other; --
contradistinguished from line. Compare Ploy, and Deploy.
(b) A small army.
4. (Naut.)
Definition: A number of ships so arranged as to follow one another in
single or double file or in squadrons; -- in distinction from "line",
where they are side by side.
5. (Print.)
Definition: A perpendicular set of lines, not extending across the page,
and separated from other matter by a rule or blank space; as, a
column in a newspaper.
6. (Arith.)
Definition: A perpendicular line of figures.
7. (Bot.)
Definition: The body formed by the union of the stamens in the Mallow
family, or of the stamens and pistil in the orchids. Attached column.
See under Attach, v. t.
– Clustered column. See under Cluster, v. t.
– Column rule, a thin strip of brass separating columns of type in
the form, and making a line between them in printing.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition