PIL'LAR, noun [Latin pila, a pile, a pillar a mortar and pestle. The Latin pila denotes a heap, or things thrown, put or driven together.]

Literally, a pile or heap; hence,

1. A kind or irregular column round an insulate, but deviating from the proportions of a just column. Pillars are either too massive or too slender for regular architecture; they are not restricted to any rules, and their parts and proportions are arbitrary. A square pillar is a massive work, called also a pier or piedroit, serving to support arches. etc.

2. A supporter; that which sustains or upholds; that on which some superstructure rests. Galatians 2:9.

3. A monument raised to commemorate any person or remarkable transaction.

And Jacob set a pillar on her grave. Genesis 35:14. 2 Samuel 18:18.

4. Something resembling a pillar; as a pillar of salt. Genesis 19:26.

So a pillar of a cloud, a pillar of fire. Exodus 13:21.

5. Foundation; support. Job 9:6.

6. In ships, a square or round timber fixed perpendicularly under the middle of the beams for supporting the decks.

7. In the manege, the center of the volta, ring or manege ground, around which a horse turns. There are also pillars on the circumference or side, placed at certain distances by two and two.