pedestal
verbEtymology Borrowed from Middle French piédestal, itself borrowed from Italian piedistallo (literally “foot stand”). Spelling influenced by Latin pēs, pedem.
1
To set or support on (or as if on) a pedestal.
pedestal
noun/ˈpɛdɪstəl/ · /ˈpɛdɪsˌtuːl/
Etymology Borrowed from Middle French piédestal, itself borrowed from Italian piedistallo (literally “foot stand”). Spelling influenced by Latin pēs, pedem.
11 senses
- 1The base or foot of a column, statue, vase, lamp.
- 2A place of reverence or honor.
- 3A casting secured to the frame of a truck of a railcar…
- 4A pillow block; a low housing.
- 5An iron socket, or support, for the foot of a brace at…
- 6a pedestal coil, group of connected straight pipes…
- 7A ground-level housing for a passive connection point…
- 8The measured value when no input signal is given.
- 9The central part of the cockpit, between the pilots…
- 10An item upon which television cameras are mounted.
- 11The tough protuberant pad covering a dromedary's…
1
Architecture The base or foot of a column, statue, vase, lamp.
- The table and two base pedestals cost more than $4,000. The pedestals are described as having “hand applied ebonized inlay with bell flowers topped by hand carved scrolls and a fluted column.”2018 February 28, Rene Marsh, Ross Levitt, “See HUD’s $31,000 mahogany dining set”, in CNN, archived from the original on 02 Dec 2022:
- The state reached a deal with the city to remove the 40-foot granite pedestal the Lee statue sat on for more than a century.2021 December 15, Ami Vera, Artemis Moshtaghian, “Virginia to begin removal process of Robert E. Lee statue pedestal in Richmond, governor says”, in CNN, archived from the original on 12 Jun 2025:
2
Figuratively A place of reverence or honor.
- He has put his mother on a pedestal. You can't say a word against her.
- It’s an old, old story. We’ve all placed people on pedestals, and then, almost inevitably, they let us down. They violate our trust. They betray us. They fall off the pedestal, or we remove them.2012 August 31, Todd Leopold, “When the hero falls off the pedestal”, in CNN, archived from the original on 13 Oct 2022:
1 more example
- But India is also where the Mahatma may have fallen furthest from the pedestal.2019 October 2, Lauren Frayer, “Gandhi Is Deeply Revered, But His Attitudes On Race And Sex Are Under Scrutiny”, in NPR, archived from the original on 06 Apr 2020:
3
Rail transport, Railways, Transport A casting secured to the frame of a truck of a railcar and forming a jaw for holding a journal box.
4
Engineering, Machining, Mechanical engineering, Natural sciences, Physical sciences A pillow block; a low housing.
5
An iron socket, or support, for the foot of a brace at the end of a truss where it rests on a pier.
Bridge building
6
a pedestal coil, group of connected straight pipes arranged side by side and one above another, used in a radiator.
7
Communications, Electrical engineering, Engineering, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Telecommunications A ground-level housing for a passive connection point for underground cables.
8
Business, Electrical engineering, Electricity, Electromagnetism, Electronics, Energy, Engineering, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Physics The measured value when no input signal is given.
9
Aeronautics, Aerospace, Aviation, Business, Engineering, Natural sciences, Physical sciences The central part of the cockpit, between the pilots, where various controls are located.
10
Arts, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Photography An item upon which television cameras are mounted.
11
The tough protuberant pad covering a dromedary's sternum, which, when the camel lies down, causes the abdomen to be slightly above the hot ground.