pylon
pronunciation
How to pronounce pylon in British English:
UK [ˈpaɪlən]
How to pronounce pylon in American English:
US [ˈpaɪˌlɑn]
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- Noun:
- a tower for guiding pilots or marking the turning point in a race
- a large vertical steel tower supporting high-tension power lines
Word Origin
- pylon (n.)
- 1823, "gateway to an Egyptian temple," from Greek pylon "gateway," from pyle "gate, wing of a pair of double gates; an entrance, entrance into a country; mountain pass; narrow strait of water," of unknown origin. Meaning "tower for guiding aviators" (1909) led to that of "steel tower for high-tension wires" (1923).
Example
- 1. The contest has been held / in anticipation of a new era of pylon building .
- 2. Alcatraz is less than 600 feet across , but hill has a solution : " one corner of the pyramid will have to rest on a very tall undersea pylon until I can make the island bigger , " he said .
- 3. It is dirty and chaotic . Electricity comes , when it comes at all , through a fragile-looking spider 's web of bare wires that sags just above head height from post to pylon around the whole neighbourhood .
- 4. If it is to be installed in seas 40 metres deep , its pylon and foundations must measure 170 metres or so , half again as high as st paul 's cathedral .