Pylon

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈpaɪ.lɒn/

Definitions

1. A tall, tower-like structure used to support electrical lines, mark an airfield, or guide traffic through a course
2. A vertical structure, commonly found in various contexts, serves to support overhead cables, delineate airport boundaries, or indicate direction for vehicles in a specific route
3. This elevated framework functions to hold electrical wires aloft, signal the presence of an airstrip, or guide traffic along a designated pathway

Etymology: The word "pylon" began life in ancient Greece as a plain architectural term. The Greek "pulōn" meant "gateway," and it was especially used for the monumental gateways of Egyptian temples, with their two massive flanking towers. English took the word over as a learned borrowing, so it reached us through scholarly Latin-style channels rather than through everyday speech, which explains why it still sounds like a term from the classroom. The leap from a temple entrance to a steel lattice carrying electricity across the countryside is a shift from a gateway to the towers that frame it. The towers, rather than the passage between them, gave the word its modern sense: a tall, tower-like structure. That is why the same term now covers power-line supports, the markers that guide aircraft at airfields, and the posts that mark out courses for racing.

Synonyms: tower, column, support