col|umn

col|umn «KOL uhm; see note below (Cf. ↑A)», noun.

1. a) a slender, upright structure; pillar; post. Columns are usually made of stone, wood, or metal, and are used as supports or ornaments to a building. b) an upright support consisting essentially of a nearly cylindrical shaft with a base and capital. c) a similar structure, often of great size, erected alone as a monument: »

Trajan's column.

2. anything that seems slender and upright like a column: »

a column of mercury in a tube, the spinal column. Figurative. A column of smoke rose from the fire.

3. an arrangement of people, especially soldiers, in several short rows one behind another, used especially for marching.

4. a line of ships or aircraft, one behind another.

5. any similar line of persons or things: »

A long column of cars followed the procession down the street.

6. a) a narrow division of a page reading from top to bottom, kept separate by lines or by blank spaces. Some newspapers have eight columns on a page. b) a line or series of letters, figures, or other symbols arranged vertically: »

Add the column of figures.

7. a) a part of a newspaper or magazine used for a special subject or written by a special writer: »

a financial column, the sports column.

b) an article appearing in a column. Columns usually carry the name of the writer, and sometimes his or her picture.

8. Botany. an upright cylindrical structure formed by the union of the stamens with the style, as in orchids. Abbr: col.

╂[< Latin columna column, pillar, post]

Usage column. The pronunciation «KOL yuhm», although generally regarded as substandard, is not uncommon, especially in senses 7a and 7b and as a humorous usage.