Pilaster

pilaster (pĭlăs`tər), in architecture, upright supporting member, attached to and projecting slightly from the face of a wall and equipped with a base and capital like a column; also, a similar form used decoratively. The pilaster in general follows the rules and proportions of the classic orders; it may be fluted or not, but usually has no entasis or taper. It was used by the Romans. The Greek antae (projections of the wall at the corners only), although similar in function, differ in base and capital from the columns that stand between them. In the Renaissance, the pilaster, used as a purely decorative device, was often paneled and ornamented.

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pilaster

In Classical architecture, a shallow rectangular column built into a wall and projecting slightly beyond it. It has a capital and base and conforms to one of the orders. In Roman architecture the pilaster gradually became more decorative than structural, and it served to break up otherwise empty expanses of wall.

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pilaster

a shallow rectangular column attached to the face of a wall

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pilaster [pə′las·tər]

(civil engineering)

A vertical rectangular architectural member that is structurally a pier and architecturally a column.

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pilaster

1. An engaged pier or pillar, often with capital and base.

2. Decorative features that imitate engaged piers but are not supporting structures, as a rectangular or semicircular member used as a simulated pillar in entrances and other door openings and fireplace mantels; often contains a base, shaft, and capital; may be constructed as a projection of the wall itself. (See illustration p. 726.)

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Pilaster 

a flat upright projection on a wall or pillar; it is rectangular in plan. A pilaster is architecturally treated as a column but usually lacks entasis. Pilasters were widely used in ordered architecture primarily as decorative elements that divided a wall. Sometimes pilasters are load bearing.