pylon

From Ancient Greek πυλών (pulṓn, “gateway”).

• IPA^(key): /ˈpaɪ.lɒn/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

pylon (plural pylons)

The first pylon of the Temple of Edfu.

An electricity pylon.

A pylon at the corner of an American football end zone.

1. A gateway to the inner part of an Ancient Egyptian temple.
2. (electricity) 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: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:

     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. (architecture) A tall steel or concrete tower from which cables are strung.
4. A lighting mast; a freestanding support for floodlights.
5. (aviation) A structure used to mount engines, missiles etc., to the underside of an aircraft wing or fuselage.
6. (aviation, historical) A starting derrick for an aeroplane.
7. (aviation, historical) A post, tower, etc. as on an aerodrome, or flying ground, serving to bound or mark a prescribed course of flight.
8. An obelisk.
   • 2012 January, 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.

9. A traffic cone.
10. (American football) An orange marker designating one of the four corners of the end zone in American football.
11. (medicine) A rigid prosthesis for the lower leg.
    • 1963, Robert Mazet, The Influence of Prosthesis Wearing on the Health of the Geriatric Patient, page 5:

      McKenzie uses a pylon for all above knee amputees, and orders a permanent leg when function merits it.

    • 2007, Michelle H. Cameron, Linda Monroe, Physical Rehabilitation - E-Book:

      During the early postoperative period, before the patient has a prosthesis, they may have a rigid dressing with a pylon.

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

• IPA^(key): /piˈlɔn/

• Audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: py‧lon
• Rhymes: -ɔn

pylon m (plural pylonnen or pylonen, diminutive pylonnetje n)

1. A traffic cone

   Synonym: verkeerskegel

Ultimately derived from Ancient Greek πυλών (pulṓn).

• IPA^(key): /ˈpɨ.lɔn/

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɨlɔn
• Syllabification: py‧lon

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

• pylon in Polish dictionaries at PWN