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Added 9 October 2026

column

/ˈkɒləm/ noun

In Latin: columna Wiktionary

noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about column at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A solid upright structure designed usually to support a larger structure above it, such as a roof or horizontal beam, but sometimes for decoration.
A vertical line of entries in a table, usually read from top to bottom.
A body of troops or army vehicles, usually strung out along a road.

Origin

From Middle English columne, columpne, columpe, borrowed from Old French columne, from Latin columna (“a column, pillar, post”), originally a collateral form of columen, contraction culmen (“a pillar, top, crown, summit”). Akin to Latin collis (“a hill”), celsus (“high”), probably to Ancient Greek κολοφών (kolophṓn, “top, summit”).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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