pyramid
See also: Pyramid
English
The Great Pyramids of Giza.
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The initial layout of the game of Pyramid.
Alternative forms
- piramis, pyramis (obsolete)
Etymology
From French pyramide, from Old French piramide, from Latin pȳramis, pȳramidis, from Ancient Greek πῡραμίς (pūramís), possibly from πῡρός (pūrós, “wheat”) + ἀμάω (amáō, “reap”) or from Egyptian pr-m-ws (“height of a pyramid”), from pr (“(one that) comes forth”) + m (“from”) + ws (“height”). Schenkel and K. Lang proposed hypothetical Coptic ⲡⲓⲣⲁⲙ (piram) or ⲫⲣⲁⲙ (phram) derived from Egyptian mr via metathesis as a source of πῡραμίς (pūramís) while Schenkel also suggested it being the source of Arabic هرم although the latter is considered far-fetched by Takacs.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈpɪɹəmɪd/
Audio (US) (file)
Noun
pyramid (countable and uncountable, plural pyramids)
- An ancient massive construction with a square or rectangular base and four triangular sides meeting in an apex, such as those built as tombs in Egypt or as bases for temples in Mesoamerica.
- A construction in the shape of a pyramid, usually with a square or rectangular base.
- 2014 September 7, “Doddington's garden pyramid is a folly good show: The owners of a Lincolnshire stately home have brought the folly into the 21st century, by building a 30ft pyramid [print edition: Great pyramid of Lincolnshire, 6 September 2014, p. G2]”, in The Daily Telegraph, London:
- [T]he owners of Doddington Hall, in Lincolnshire, have brought the folly into the 21st century, by building a 30ft pyramid in the grounds of the Elizabethan manor.
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- (geometry) A solid with triangular lateral faces and a polygonal (often square or rectangular) base.
- (neuroanatomy) A medullary pyramid, the medial-most bumps on the ventral side of the medulla oblongata
- (UK, dated) The game of pool in which the balls are placed in the form of a triangle at spot.
- A pyramid scheme.
- (card games, uncountable) Alternative letter-case form of Pyramid. (a solitaire card game)
- (card games) The triangular layout of cards in the game of Pyramid.
- Build your pyramid with all cards face down, except the cards in the bottom row.
- (journalism) An approximately triangular headline consisting of several centered lines of text of increasing length.
- 1924, Helen Ogden Mahin, The Development and Significance of the Newspaper Headline:
- […] with a cross-line banner, a set of two-column pyramids beneath it in the middle, and on each side of these exactly the same thing,—something between a headline and a story—"$50,000 Reward for—" etc.
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Quotations
For quotations using this term, see Citations:pyramid.
Derived terms
Derived terms
- Gaussian pyramid
- Laplacian pyramid
- pyramidal
- pyramidism
- pyramidization
- pyramidize
- pyramidologist
- pyramidology
- pyramid scheme
- steerable pyramid
Translations
ancient construction
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construction
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in geometry, a solid with triangular lateral faces and a polygonal base
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pyramid scheme — see pyramid scheme
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
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See also
- Ponzi scheme
Verb
pyramid (third-person singular simple present pyramids, present participle pyramiding, simple past and past participle pyramided)
- To build up or be arranged in the form of a pyramid.
- 1952, Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man, Penguin Books (2014), page 198:
- The paint was stacked in neatly pyramided lots along the concrete floor.
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- (transitive, genetics) To combine (a series of genes) into a single genotype.
- (intransitive) To employ, or take part in, a pyramid scheme.
- (finance) To engage in pyramid trading.
- 2002, Alexander Elder, Come Into My Trading Room: A Complete Guide to Trading (page 152)
- Multiply this by the number of shares you traded, and add other positions if you pyramided.
- 2002, Alexander Elder, Come Into My Trading Room: A Complete Guide to Trading (page 152)
Swedish
Pronunciation
- Rhymes: -iːd
Noun
pyramid c
- (geometry) pyramid
- Pyramid-shaped construction.
Declension
| Declension of pyramid | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Plural | |||
| Indefinite | Definite | Indefinite | Definite | |
| Nominative | pyramid | pyramiden | pyramider | pyramiderna |
| Genitive | pyramids | pyramidens | pyramiders | pyramidernas |
Related terms
- pyramidspel
See also
- pyramidal
Welsh
Alternative forms
- puramid
Etymology
From English pyramid, from French pyramide, from Old French piramide, from Latin pȳramis, pȳramidis, from Ancient Greek πῡραμίς (pūramís).
Pronunciation
- (North Wales) IPA(key): /ˈpɨ̞ramɪd/
- (South Wales) IPA(key): /ˈpɪramɪd/
Usage notes
Being a word borrowed from English derived from Greek, the y in pyramid is pronounced /ɨ̞, ɪ/ rather than expected /ə/. To preserve consistency between pronunciation and spelling, some prefer to spell this word puramid. Nevertheless, pyramid is the more common spelling of the two. See symbol/sumbol, synthesis/sunthesis, system/sustem for similar examples.
Noun
pyramid m (plural pyramidau)
- pyramid
Derived terms
- pyramidaidd (“pyramidal”)
Further reading
- R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “pyramid”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies