pyramid

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See also: Pyramid

English

English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia
The Great Pyramids of Giza.
The initial layout of the game of Pyramid.

Alternative forms

Etymology

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.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈpɪɹəmɪd/
  • Audio (US):(file)

Noun

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

Quotations

For quotations using this term, see Citations:pyramid.

Derived terms

Derived terms

Translations

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

See also

Verb

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.
  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.

Swedish

Pronunciation

Noun

pyramid c

  1. (geometry) pyramid
  2. Pyramid-shaped construction.

Declension

Declension of pyramid
nominative genitive
singular indefinite pyramid pyramids
definite pyramiden pyramidens
plural indefinite pyramider pyramiders
definite pyramiderna pyramidernas

See also

Welsh

Alternative forms

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

  • Lua error in Module:parameters at line 376: Parameter 1 should be a valid language or etymology language code; the value "cy-N" is not valid. See WT:LOL and WT:LOL/E. IPA(key): /ˈpɨ̞ramɪd/
  • Lua error in Module:parameters at line 376: Parameter 1 should be a valid language or etymology language code; the value "cy-S" is not valid. See WT:LOL and WT:LOL/E. IPA(key): /ˈpɪramɪd/

Usage notes

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.

Noun

pyramid m (plural pyramidau)

  1. pyramid

Derived terms

Further reading

  • 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
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