pinnacle
English
Etymology
From Middle English, borrowed from Old French pinacle, pinnacle, from Late Latin pinnaculum (“a peak, pinnacle”), double diminutive of Latin pinna (“a pinnacle”); see pin. Doublet of panache.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈpɪnəkəl/
Noun
pinnacle (plural pinnacles)
- The highest point.
- Antonym: nadir
- A tall, sharp and craggy rock or mountain.
- (figuratively) An all-time high; a point of greatest achievement or success.
- (architecture) An upright member, generally ending in a small spire, used to finish a buttress, to constitute a part in a proportion, as where pinnacles flank a gable or spire.
- (Can we date this quote?) John Milton
- Some renowned metropolis / With glistering spires and pinnacles around.
- (Can we date this quote?) John Milton
Synonyms
- See also Thesaurus:apex
Translations
highest point
|
tall, sharp and craggy rock or mountain
Verb
pinnacle (third-person singular simple present pinnacles, present participle pinnacling, simple past and past participle pinnacled)
- To put something on a pinnacle.
- To build or furnish with a pinnacle or pinnacles.
- (Can we find and add a quotation of T. Warton to this entry?)
Further reading
- pinnacle in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
- pinnacle in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
Anagrams
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