PYRAMID

Pyramid, Great Pyramid, Pyramids of Egypt

(noun) a massive monument with a square base and four triangular sides; begun by Cheops around 2700 BC as royal tombs in ancient Egypt

pyramid

(noun) (stock market) a series of transactions in which the speculator increases his holdings by using the rising market value of those holdings as margin for further purchases

pyramid

(noun) a polyhedron having a polygonal base and triangular sides with a common vertex

pyramid

(verb) increase rapidly and progressively step by step on a broad base

pyramid

(verb) arrange or build up as if on the base of a pyramid

pyramid

(verb) use or deal in (as of stock or commercial transaction) in a pyramid deal

pyramid

(verb) enlarge one’s holdings on an exchange on a continued rise by using paper profits as margin to buy additional amounts

Source: WordNet® 3.1

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Proper noun

Pyramid

(card games) A solitaire card game where the cards are arranged as a triangle (a "pyramid") and the object is to get the cards from the bottom to the top.

Etymology

Noun

pyramid (countable and uncountable, plural pyramids)

An ancient massive construction with a square or rectangular base and four triangular sides meeting in an apex, such as those built as tombs in Egypt or as bases for temples in Mesoamerica.

A construction in the shape of a pyramid, usually with a square or rectangular base.

(geometry) A solid with triangular lateral faces and a polygonal (often square or rectangular) base.

(neuroanatomy) A medullary pyramid, the medial-most bumps on the ventral side of the medulla oblongata

(UK, dated) The game of pool in which the balls are placed in the form of a triangle at spot.

A pyramid scheme.

(card games, uncountable) Alternative letter-case form of Pyramid. (a solitaire card game)

(card games) The triangular layout of cards in the game of Pyramid.

(journalism) An approximately triangular headline consisting of several centered lines of text of increasing length.

Verb

pyramid (third-person singular simple present pyramids, present participle pyramiding, simple past and past participle pyramided)

To build up or be arranged in the form of a pyramid.

(transitive, genetics) To combine (a series of genes) into a single genotype.

(intransitive) To employ, or take part in, a pyramid scheme.

(finance) To engage in pyramid trading.

Source: Wiktionary

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Pyr"a*mid, n. Etym: [L. pyramis, -idis, fr. Gr. pyramide.]

1. A solid body standing on a triangular, square, or polygonal base, and terminating in a point at the top; especially, a structure or edifice of this shape.

2. (Geom.)

Definition: A solid figure contained by a plane rectilineal figure as base and several triangles which have a common vertex and whose bases are sides of the base.

3. pl. (Billiards)

Definition: The game of pool in which the balls are placed in the form of a triangle at spot. [Eng.] Altitude of a pyramid (Geom.), the perpendicular distance from the vertex to the plane of the base.

– Axis of a pyramid (Geom.), a straight line drawn from the vertex to the center of the base.

– Earth pyramid. (Geol.) See Earth pillars, under Earth.

– Right pyramid (Geom.) a pyramid whose axis is perpendicular to the base.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition

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