Word of the Day ·

P3E1D2E1S1T1A1L1

pedestal

/ˈpɛdɪstəl//ˈpɛdɪsˌtuːl/

noun

What it means

  1. architectureThe base or foot of a column, statue, vase, lamp.

    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
    1 more example

    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
  2. figurativelyA place of reverence or honor.

    He has put his mother on a pedestal. You can't say a word against her.

    2 more examples

    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

    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 transportA casting secured to the frame of a truck of a railcar and forming a jaw for holding a journal box.

In a sentence

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

Where it comes from

  1. Italianpiedistallo
  2. Middle Frenchpiédestal
  3. Englishpedestal

Borrowed from Middle French piédestal, itself borrowed from Italian piedistallo (literally “foot stand”). Spelling influenced by Latin pēs, pedem.

Full entry for pedestal →

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