pilaster
/pɪˈlastə/
"pilaster" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“pilaster” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 8
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A rectangular column that projects partially from the wall to which it is attached; it gives the appearance of a support, but is only for decoration.
Corpus desk
Index EN-pilaster · pilaster · English
pilaster · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 8 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "P" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | pilaster |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /pɪˈlastə/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “pilaster” in English
Rare enough to double-check
pilaster is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /pɪˈlastə/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for pilaster, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle French pilastre, from Italian pilastro. Equivalent to pillar + -aster. The correct English form is pilaster, spelled P-I-L-A-S-T-E-R.
Definition
- 1A rectangular column that projects partially from the wall to which it is attached; it gives the appearance of a support, but is only for decoration.
- 2A column or short wing wall attached to the foundation wall which provides lateral support, or to support a vertical load that does not fall on the foundation wall.
Etymology
From Middle French pilastre, from Italian pilastro. Equivalent to pillar + -aster.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.