pylon

[ pahy-lon ]

noun

1. a marking post or tower for guiding aviators, frequently used in races.
2. a relatively tall structure at the side of a gate, bridge, or avenue, marking an entrance or approach.
3. a monumental tower forming the entrance to an ancient Egyptian temple, consisting either of a pair of tall quadrilateral masonry masses with sloping sides and a doorway between them or of one such mass pierced with a doorway.
4. a steel tower or mast carrying high-tension lines, telephone wires, or other cables and lines.
5. Aeronautics. a finlike device used to attach engines, auxiliary fuel tanks, bombs, etc., to an aircraft wing or fuselage.

pylon

/ ˈpaɪlən /

noun

1. a large vertical steel tower-like structure supporting high-tension electrical cables
2. a post or tower for guiding pilots or marking a turning point in a race
3. a streamlined aircraft structure for attaching an engine pod, external fuel tank, etc, to the main body of the aircraft
4. a monumental gateway, such as one at the entrance to an ancient Egyptian temple
5. a temporary artificial leg

Word History and Origins

Origin of pylon¹

First recorded in 1840–50, pylon is from the Greek word pylṓn gateway, gate tower

Word History and Origins

Origin of pylon¹

C19: from Greek pulōn a gateway

Example Sentences

He caught another five-yarder that he carted inside the right pylon after a presnap bit of candy during which he motioned right, then motioned left behind the offensive line, then motioned back right to catch the quick pass.

From Washington Post

Boone went wide to the left, reached toward the goal line and touched the football to the pylon before falling out of bounds and losing possession of the ball.

From Washington Post

The gigantic pylon, its shoulders breaking the sky four-square far overhead, seemed the prodigious portal of another world.

From Project Gutenberg

The largest still existing is the outer pylon of the great temple of Karnak.

From Project Gutenberg

This moulding bounds all the flat surfaces of the pylon, which are, moreover, covered with bas-reliefs and paintings.

From Project Gutenberg

From the base of the pylon spring those vertical masts from whose summits many coloured streamers flutter in the sun.

From Project Gutenberg

Obelisks and colossal statues seem to have been peculiarly necessary outside the first, or outer, pylon of a temple.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• monument