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



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Word of the Day

24 November 2024

CUNT

(noun) a person (usually but not necessarily a woman) who is thoroughly disliked; “she said her son thought Hillary was a bitch”


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Coffee Trivia

According to Guinness World Records, the most massive cup of coffee contained 22,739.14 liters and was created by Alcaldía Municipal de Chinchiná (Colombia) at Parque de Bolívar, Chinchiná, Caldas, Colombia, on 15 June 2019. Fifty people worked for more than a month to build this giant cup. The drink prepared was Arabic coffee.

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