pylon

From Ancient Greek πυλών (pulṓn).

• IPA^(key): /ˈpaɪ.lɒn/

pylon (plural pylons)

1. A gateway to the inner part of an Ancient Egyptian temple.
2. A tower-like structure, usually one of a series, used to support high-voltage electricity cables.
   • 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 7, in The China Governess‎:

     The highway to the East Coast which ran through the borough of Ebbfield had always been a main road and even now, despite the vast garages, the pylons and the gaily painted factory glasshouses which had sprung up beside it, there still remained an occasional trace of past cultures.

3. (aviation) A structure used to mount engines, missiles etc., to the underside of an aircraft wing or fuselage.
4. (aviation, historical) A starting derrick for an aeroplane.
5. (aviation, historical) A post, tower, etc. as on an aerodrome, or flying ground, serving to bound or mark a prescribed course of flight.
6. An obelisk.
   • 2012 January 1, Henry Petroski, “The Washington Monument”, in American Scientist‎, volume 100, number 1, page 16:

     The Washington Monument is often described as an obelisk, and sometimes even as a “true obelisk,” even though it is not. A true obelisk is a monolith, a pylon formed out of a single piece of stone.

7. A traffic cone.
8. (American football) An orange marker designating one of the four corners of the end zone in American football.

Pylons designating the corners of the end zone.

• IPA^(key): /ˈpɨ.lɔn/

pylon m inan

1. gateway to the inner part of an Ancient Egyptian temple
2. pillar of a suspension or cable-stayed bridge
3. high, narrow, vertical sign, usually displaying advertisements, found e.g. near gas stations