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pinnacle |
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pinnacle (pĭn`ĭkəl), 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. pinnacle 1. a towering peak, as of a mountain 2. a slender upright structure in the form of a cone, pyramid, or spire on the top of a buttress, gable, or tower pinnacle [′pin·ə·kəl] (architecture) A projection on the highest point of the roof of a building. (geology) A sharp-pointed rock rising from the bottom, which may extend above the surface of the water, and may be a hazard to surface navigation; due to the sheer rise from the sea floor, no warning is given by sounding. Any high tower or spire-shaped pillar of rock, alone or cresting a summit. How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content. |
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But his warning would have come too late; the massive pinnacle already tottered, and De Bracy, who still heaved at his task, would have accomplished it, had not the voice of the Templar sounded close in his ears:--- This encounter, together with my set-to with the Martian warrior on the previous day and my feats of jumping placed me upon a high pinnacle in their regard. By the assistance of some rudely constructed machinery, the heavily laden basket was now carefully lowered down among the multitude; and, from the giddy pinnacle, the Romans were seen gathering confusedly round it; but owing to the vast height and the prevalence of a fog, no distinct view of their operations could be obtained. |
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