pedestal

UK/ˈpɛdɪstəl/US/ˈpɛdɪstəl/

nounC2Common in everyday speech and writing · #7,362 of 15,258leans written

Other forms: pedestals

A pedestal is the base a statue stands on, or a place of high honour. On a pedestal, knock him off his pedestal, a marble pedestal.

Putting somebody on a pedestal is a warning rather than a compliment, since anybody placed there has further to fall. The Italian behind it means foot of a stall, which is exactly what it is.

Definitions of pedestal

1nounpedestalThe base a statue stands on, or a place of high honour.C2
“The bronze statue of the general stands on a tall stone pedestal in the square.”

pedestal is a base.

Where it comes from

Italian piedistallo means foot of a stall, from pie, foot, plus stallo, a stall.

Proto-Indo-European
*ped-
Italian
piedistallo
Middle French
piédestal
English, today
pedestal

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

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

pedestal in the wild

The statue was built in France, shipped overseas in crates, and assembled on the completed pedestal on what was then called Bedloe's Island.
Statue of Liberty
However, some tables have three legs, use a single heavy pedestal, or are attached to a wall.
Table (furniture)
The word is borrowed from Italian meaning "dice" or "cube", and refers to die, an architectural term for the middle section of a pedestal or plinth.
Dado (architecture)
A pedestal, or plinth is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars.
Pedestal
Smaller pedestals, especially if round in shape, may be called socles.
Pedestal

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

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