Pillaring

Part of speech: noun, verb

Definitions

1. The act of supporting or reinforcing a structure with vertical columns or pillars
2. A method of constructing or stabilizing architecture by utilizing vertical supports
3. The process of creating a framework in buildings whereby upright posts or columns provide stability and strength

Etymology: "Pillaring" is the present participle and gerund of "pillar," so its story is really the story of the base word, with the "-ing" ending simply marking the action of putting up columns. The noun "pillar" arrived in English in the Middle Ages as "piler," borrowed from Old French "pilier." Behind that lies Medieval Latin or Vulgar Latin "*pilāre," meaning "a pillar," which grew out of the Latin "pila," a word for a pillar, pier, or mole. English already had its own words for this idea. Old English "sweor" and "stapol" meant pillar or column, but the French-derived "pillar" displaced them, so the native words faded from everyday use while the borrowed one took over. The verb built from it, meaning to furnish or support with columns, follows the same path, and "pillaring" is simply the form used for the ongoing action.