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pinnacle
pinnacle , minor architectural motif of vertical tapering shape, usually crowning a pier, buttress, or gable. Although sometimes it appears in Renaissance design, as in the Certosa di Pavia, it is almost exclusively a medieval form, originating in the late Romanesque and becoming common in Gothic. Topping the piers of the flying buttresses of side aisles and choirs, pinnacles weighted the pier and thus counteracted the thrust of the flying arch, while furnishing also effective vertical adornments. With the advance of the Gothic, pinnacles appeared in all parts of the church. In France they multiplied and assumed the widest variety of forms, adorned with gables, tracery, colonnettes, and canopied niches and culminating in a richly crocketed finial. In England they were far less important and remained relatively simple. |
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"pinnacle." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "pinnacle." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-pinnacle.html "pinnacle." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-pinnacle.html |
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pinnacle
pin·na·cle / ˈpinəkəl/ • n. a high, pointed piece of rock. ∎ a small pointed turret built as an ornament on a roof. ∎ the most successful point; the culmination: he had reached the pinnacle of his career. • v. [tr.] poetic/lit. set on or as if on a pinnacle: a rustic cross was pinnacled upon the makeshift altar. ∎ form the culminating point or example of. DERIVATIVES: pin·na·cled adj. |
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"pinnacle." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "pinnacle." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-pinnacle.html "pinnacle." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-pinnacle.html |
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pinnacle
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T. F. HOAD. "pinnacle." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "pinnacle." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-pinnacle.html T. F. HOAD. "pinnacle." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-pinnacle.html |
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pinnacle
pinnacle The highest points of the Templ roof (‘parapet’, REB, NJB), possibly overlooking a precipitous valley, mentioned as the imaginary scene of Jesus' second temptation (Matt. 4: 5).
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W. R. F. BROWNING. "pinnacle." A Dictionary of the Bible. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. W. R. F. BROWNING. "pinnacle." A Dictionary of the Bible. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O94-pinnacle.html W. R. F. BROWNING. "pinnacle." A Dictionary of the Bible. 1997. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O94-pinnacle.html |
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pinnacle
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JAMES STEVENS CURL. "pinnacle." A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JAMES STEVENS CURL. "pinnacle." A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O1-pinnacle.html JAMES STEVENS CURL. "pinnacle." A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. 2000. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O1-pinnacle.html |
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pinnacle
pinnacle •cackle, crackle, grackle, hackle, jackal, mackle, shackle, tackle
•ankle, rankle
•Gaskell, mascle, paschal
•tabernacle • ramshackle
•débâcle, diarchal, matriarchal, monarchal, patriarchal, sparkle
•rascal
•deckle, freckle, heckle, Jekyll, shekel, speckle
•faecal (US fecal), treacle
•chicle, fickle, mickle, nickel, pickle, prickle, sickle, strickle, tickle, trickle
•besprinkle, crinkle, sprinkle, tinkle, twinkle, winkle, wrinkle
•fiscal
•laical, Pharisaical
•vehicle • stoical • cubicle • radical
•medical, paramedical
•Druidical, juridical, veridical
•syndical
•methodical, periodical, rhapsodical, synodical
•Talmudical • graphical • pontifical
•magical, tragical
•strategical
•alogical, illogical, logical
•dramaturgical, liturgical, metallurgical, surgical
•anarchical, hierarchical, monarchical, oligarchical
•psychical
•angelical, evangelical, helical
•umbilical • biblical • encyclical
•diabolical, follicle, hyperbolical, symbolical
•dynamical, hydrodynamical
•academical, agrochemical, alchemical, biochemical, chemical, petrochemical, photochemical, polemical
•inimical • rhythmical • seismical
•agronomical, anatomical, astronomical, comical, economical, gastronomical, physiognomical
•botanical, Brahmanical, mechanical, puritanical, sanicle, tyrannical
•ecumenical
•geotechnical, pyrotechnical, technical
•clinical, cynical, dominical, finical, Jacobinical, pinnacle, rabbinical
•canonical, chronicle, conical, ironical
•tunicle • pumpernickel • vernicle
•apical • epical
•atypical, prototypical, stereotypical, typical
•misanthropical, semi-tropical, subtropical, topical, tropical
•theatrical
•chimerical, clerical, hemispherical, hysterical, numerical, spherical
•calendrical
•asymmetrical, diametrical, geometrical, metrical, symmetrical, trimetrical
•electrical • ventricle
•empirical, lyrical, miracle, panegyrical, satirical
•cylindrical
•ahistorical, allegorical, categorical, historical, metaphorical, oratorical, phantasmagorical, rhetorical
•auricle • rubrical • curricle
•classical, fascicle, neoclassical
•farcical • vesicle
•indexical, lexical
•commonsensical, nonsensical
•bicycle, icicle, tricycle
•paradoxical • Popsicle • versicle
•anagrammatical, apostatical, emblematical, enigmatical, fanatical, grammatical, mathematical, piratical, prelatical, problematical, sabbatical
•impractical, practical, syntactical, tactical
•canticle
•ecclesiastical, fantastical
•article, particle
•alphabetical, arithmetical, heretical, hypothetical, metathetical, metical, parenthetical, poetical, prophetical, reticle, synthetical, theoretical
•dialectical
•conventicle, identical
•sceptical (US skeptical) • testicle
•analytical, apolitical, critical, cryptanalytical, diacritical, eremitical, geopolitical, hypercritical, hypocritical, political, socio-political, subcritical
•deistical, egoistical, logistical, mystical, papistical
•optical, synoptical
•aeronautical, nautical, vortical
•cuticle, pharmaceutical, therapeutical
•vertical • ethical • mythical • clavicle
•periwinkle • lackadaisical
•metaphysical, physical, quizzical
•whimsical • musical
•Carmichael, cervical, cycle, Michael
•unicycle • monocycle • motorcycle
•cockle, grockle
•corncockle • snorkel
•bifocal, focal, local, univocal, varifocal, vocal, yokel
•archducal, coucal, ducal, pentateuchal
•buckle, chuckle, knuckle, muckle, ruckle, suckle, truckle
•peduncle, uncle
•parbuckle • carbuncle • turnbuckle
•pinochle • furuncle • honeysuckle
•demoniacal, maniacal, megalomaniacal, paradisiacal, zodiacal
•manacle • barnacle • cenacle
•binnacle • monocle • epochal
•reciprocal
•coracle, oracle
•spectacle
•pentacle, tentacle
•receptacle • obstacle • equivocal
•circle, encircle
•semicircle
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Cite this article
"pinnacle." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "pinnacle." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-pinnacle.html "pinnacle." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-pinnacle.html |
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