pyramid

• piramis, pyramis (obsolete)

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.

• IPA^(key): /ˈpɪɹəmɪd/

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pyramid (countable and uncountable, plural pyramids)

1. 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.
2. 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.

3. (geometry) A solid with triangular lateral faces and a polygonal (often square or rectangular) base.
4. (by extension) Any structure or diagram with many members at the bottom and progressively fewer towards the top.

   The company was organized as a pyramid, with a CEO in charge of four directors, each heading up a department.

   • 1960, John Updike, 'Rabbit, Run', page 63:

     They sit looking at the empty plate that had held a pyramid of sesame cakes. They have eaten them all.

   • 1973 August 18, “Gay [drawing of a pyramid (sense 1)]”, in Gay Community News, volume 1, number 9, page 1:

     A telephone pyramid is now being formed to fill this need. Once a representative group of community people decide a crisis exists […] a list of people will be called, who in turn will call a small number of others from a list already in their possession. This process continues untill as much of the community as possible has been notified. The numbers will be kept in strict confidence, with no one other than the organizers having the entire list. Individual callers will only have a few names and numbers.

5. (neuroanatomy) A medullary pyramid, the medial-most bumps on the ventral side of the medulla oblongata
6. (UK, dated) The game of pool in which the balls are placed in the form of a triangle at spot.
7. A pyramid scheme.
8. (card games, uncountable) Alternative letter-case form of Pyramid. (a solitaire card game)
9. (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.

10. (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.

For quotations using this term, see Citations:pyramid.

• Ponzi scheme

pyramid (third-person singular simple present pyramids, present participle pyramiding, simple past and past participle pyramided)

1. 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.

   • 1983 April 9, Walta Borawski, “Midler in Boston”, in Gay Community News, page 12:

     Once there was an enormous jukebox; the then-Harlettes (her three-woman back-up vocalists/dancers/mimes) pyramided to drop a huge coin, and around the bend of the big record would spin the diva.

2. (transitive, genetics) To combine (a series of genes) into a single genotype.
3. (intransitive) To employ, or take part in, a pyramid scheme.
4. (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.

5. (dated) To increase to or towards a peak.

• Rhymes: -iːd

pyramid c

1. a pyramid (ancient construction, or some other pyramid-shaped construction or thing)
2. (geometry) a pyramid

• pyramidspel

• pyramidal

• pyramid in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• pyramid in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• pyramid in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)

• puramid

From English pyramid, from French pyramide, from Old French piramide, from Latin pȳramis, pȳramidis, from Ancient Greek πῡραμίς (pūramís).

• (North Wales) IPA^(key): /ˈpɨ̞ramɪd/
• (South Wales) IPA^(key): /ˈpɪramɪd/

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.

pyramid m (plural pyramidau)

1. pyramid

• pyramidaidd (“pyramidal”)

• 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