Systyles

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A type of architectural arrangement where columns are uniformly aligned in a straight line
2. a form of classical Greek temple design featuring a series of symmetrical columns
3. a method of placing multiple columns to create a visually coherent façade in structures

Etymology: "Systyles" is the plural of "systyle," so the story belongs to the singular. The word comes from Ancient Greek "sústūlos," meaning "with columns standing close," built from "sún," "with," and "stûlos," "column." Greek builders used the term for a colonnade in which the columns stood closely together, and Latin later borrowed it as "systȳlos." The Greek root gives the word its surprising nature: the "sy-" element is the Greek preposition "sun," which is the same word that gives English "syn-" in "synthesis" and "system." Its partner, "-style," comes from "stûlos" and is related to the English "style" in the sense of a pillar or stylus-like upright, so the word is literally a description of columns crowded together.

Synonyms: colonnades, porticos