column

Definition

A solid upright structure designed usually to support a larger structure above it, such as a roof or horizontal beam, but sometimes for decoration.

Etymology

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”).

Example Sentences

• "It was too hard to read the text across the whole page, so I split it into two columns."
• "Each column inch costs $300 a week; this ad is four columns by three inches, so will run $3600 a week."
• "His initial foray into print media was as the author of a weekly column in his elementary-school newspaper."