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pyr·a·mid (pĭrə-mĭd)
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n.
1.
a. A solid figure with a polygonal base and triangular faces that meet at a common point.
b. Something shaped like this polyhedron.
2.
a. A massive monument of ancient Egypt having a rectangular base and four triangular faces culminating in a single apex, built over or around a crypt or tomb.
b. Any of various similar constructions, especially a four-sided Mesoamerican temple having stepped sides and a flat top surmounted by chambers.
3. The transactions involved in pyramiding stock.
4. Anatomy A structure or part suggestive of a pyramid in shape.
v. pyr·a·mid·ed, pyr·a·mid·ing, pyr·a·mids
v.tr.
1. To place or build in the shape of a pyramid.
2. To build (an argument or thesis, for example) progressively from a basic general premise.
3. To speculate in (stock) by making a series of buying and selling transactions in which paper profits are used as margin for buying more stock.
v.intr.
1. To assume the shape of a pyramid.
2. To increase rapidly and on a widening base.
3. To pyramid stocks.
[Latin pȳramis, pȳramid-, from Greek pūramis, of unknown origin.]
py·rami·dal (pĭ-rămĭ-dl), pyr′a·midic (-mĭdĭk), pyr′a·midi·cal (-ĭ-kəl) adj.
py·rami·dal·ly adv.
(click for a larger image)
pyramid
(click for a larger image)
pyramid
top: Pyramid of Cheops
Giza, Egypt
bottom:schematic view of the interior of the Pyramid of Cheops
A. king's chamber
B. grand gallery
C. queen's chamber
D. subterranean chamber
E. entrance
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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