Colonna

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A tall, cylindrical architectural element often used in structures to support weight and add aesthetic appeal
2. A vertical pillar or shaft, typically made of stone or wood, serving a structural or decorative purpose in buildings
3. A classical design feature that can be freestanding or embedded in a wall, varying in style and ornamentation

Etymology: Italian "colonna" passed into English as a borrowing, and it carries the same Latin root as "column" in the sense of a structural support, which English also received, but through a different route. The Italian form comes from Latin "columna," the word for a pillar, and English speakers who adopted "colonna" were borrowing a term that had been used in Italian architecture and art to name an upright support. The word therefore sits alongside its close relative "column" as a doublet, two forms of one Latin word that reached English by separate paths. English took "column" from Latin and Old French, while "colonna" arrived directly from Italian, usually when writers wanted to refer specifically to Italian examples or to Italian design. The distinction is preserved in its use today, where "colonna" tends to signal a specifically Italianate context.

Synonyms: column