# pedestal

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈpɛdɪstəl/ · frequency rank #18,391

## Definitions
1. The base or foot of a column, statue, vase, lamp.
2. A place of reverence or honor.
3. A casting secured to the frame of a truck of a railcar and forming a jaw for holding a journal box.
4. A pillow block; a low housing.
5. An iron socket, or support, for the foot of a brace at the end of a truss where it rests on a pier.
6. a pedestal coil, group of connected straight pipes arranged side by side and one above another, used in a radiator.
7. A ground-level housing for a passive connection point for underground cables.
8. The measured value when no input signal is given.
9. The central part of the cockpit, between the pilots, where various controls are located.
10. An item upon which television cameras are mounted.
11. The tough protuberant pad covering a dromedary's sternum, which, when the camel lies down, causes the abdomen to be slightly above the hot ground.

## Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French piédestal, itself borrowed from Italian piedistallo (literally “foot stand”). Spelling influenced by Latin pēs, pedem.

## Easily confused with
- **podesta** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pedestal-vs-podesta)

## Common misspellings (12)
`epdestal`, `pdeestal`, `peddestal`, `pedesatl`, `pedesstal`, `pedestall`, `pedestla`, `pedesttal`, `pedetsal`, `pedsetal`, `peedstal`, `ppedestal`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/pedestal