Link Centre Dictionary

column

co·lumn

UK/ˈkɒləm/ US/ˈkɑləm/ fairly common

noun

1.

a line of (usually military) units following one after another

2.

a vertical glass tube used in column chromatography; a mixture is poured in the top and washed through a stationary substance where components of the mixture are adsorbed selectively to form colored bands

Synonyms
3.

a linear array of numbers one above another

4.

anything tall and thin approximating the shape of a column or tower

  • “the test tube held a column of white powder”
  • “a tower of dust rose above the horizon”
  • “a thin pillar of smoke betrayed their campsite”
Synonyms
5.

the doctrine of a sect of Hindu philosophers who practiced nudity and asceticism and meditation

Synonyms
6.
7.

(architeture) a tall cylindrical vertical upright and used to support a structure

Synonyms

Origin

From Middle English columne, columpne, columpe, borrowed from Old French columne, from Latin columna (“a column, pillar, post”), originally a collateral form of columen, contraction culmen (“a pillar, top, crown, summit”). Akin to Latin collis (“a hill”), celsus (“high”), probably to Ancient Greek κολοφών (kolophṓn, “top, summit”).

Phrases

  • a little from column A and a little from column B
  • advice column
  • agony column
  • balloon column
  • clustered column
  • column density
  • column echelon form
  • column inch

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.