pedestal

[ped-uh-stl]

noun

1. an architectural support for a column, statue, vase, or the like.

2. a supporting structure or piece; base.

3. Furniture.

   1. a support for a desk, consisting of a boxlike frame containing drawers one above the other.

   2. a columnar support for a tabletop.

4. Building Trades.,  a bulge cast at the bottom of a concrete pile.

verb (used with object)

pedestaled, pedestaling , pedestalled, pedestalling .

1. to put on or supply with a pedestal.

pedestal

/ ˈpɛdɪstəl /

noun

1. a base that supports a column, statue, etc, as used in classical architecture

2. a position of eminence or supposed superiority (esp in the phrases place, put, or set on a pedestal )

3. 1. either of a pair of sets of drawers used as supports for a writing surface

   2. ( as modifier )

      a pedestal desk

Other Word Forms

• unpedestal verb (used with object)

Word History and Origins

Origin of pedestal¹

1555–65; alteration of Middle French piedestal < Italian piedestallo, variant of piedistallo literally, foot of stall. See ped- ², de, stall ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of pedestal¹

C16: from French piédestal, from Old Italian piedestallo, from pie foot + di of + stallo a stall

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. set / put on a pedestal, to glorify; idealize.

   When we first became engaged each of us set the other on a pedestal.

see on a pedestal.

Example Sentences

Now I can see the steps and the pedestal below the obelisk, which had been covered up my entire life.

Read more on Literature

"Nothing is left but the pedestals of the memorials and a few of the stones from them," he wrote online.

Read more on BBC

Instead, two innings later, Smith delivered a swing that will change his legacy forever — thrusting him onto a pedestal both overdue and long-warranted.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Grigoryan, the lawyer representing Kostyrko’s family, said the case was a lesson for Russian society and the growing number of combat veterans it has placed on a pedestal.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Further investigation by the SIT has revealed pilferage also from the pedestals and door frames and the court says that approximately 4.54kg gold has gone missing since 2019.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• podium