pinnacle en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- (Southern-England) audio
- /ˈpɪnəkəl/
Etymology
From Middle English, borrowed from Old French pinacle, pinnacle, from Late Latin pinnāculum (“a peak, pinnacle”), from Latin pinna (“a pinnacle”); see pin. Doublet of panache.
Meanings
- The highest point.
-
A tall, sharp and craggy rock or mountain.
Kings, who remain in many respects the representatives of a vanished world, solitary pinnacles that topple over the rising waste of waters under which the past lies buried.
1900, James George Frazer, The Golden Bough, volume 2, page 55:
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(figuratively) An all-time high; a point of greatest achievement or success.
The pinnacle of the effort to fix restrictive meanings to a set of terminology can be found in two papers in American Speech by Feinsilver (1979, 1980).
2018, James Lambert, “A multitude of ‘lishes’: The nomenclature of hybridity”, in English World-Wide, page 7:
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An upright member, generally ending in a small spire, used to finish a buttress, to constitute a part in a proportion, as where pinnacles flank a gable or spire.
Some renowned metropolis / With glistering spires and pinnacles around.
1667, John Milton, “Book III”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:In the city’s midst the gleaming marble of a thousand steps climbed to the citadel where arose four pinnacles beckoning to heaven, and midmost between the pinnacles there stood the dome, vast, as the gods had dreamed it.
1906, Lord Dunsany [i.e., Edward Plunkett, 18th Baron of Dunsany], Time and the Gods, London: William Heineman, →OCLC, page 1:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| pinnacles | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Antonyms
Coordinates
Deriveds
The Pinnacles · Pinnacle Swamp
Synonyms
outblossom · high point · fastigium · culmination · climax · apogee · Mount Everest · apotheosis · zenith · acme · high-water mark · ascendance · perihelion · high tide · coronation · paroxysm · peak · acme · extreme · summit · crown · midday · capstone · apex · summit · pinnacle · summa · zenith · high note
Translations (121)
ga spuaic (tall, sharp and craggy rock or mountain) · nl pinakel (architecture: an upright member) · mi karamata (highest point) · ja 頂点 (highest point) · de Spitzturm (architecture: an upright member) · tr tepe (tall, sharp and craggy rock or mountain) · sk vrchol (highest point) · it pinnacolo (highest point) · cmn 巔峰 /巅峰 (highest point) · io pinaklo (architecture: an upright member) · de Felsturm (tall, sharp and craggy rock or mountain) · pl pinakiel (architecture: an upright member) · it somma (highest point) · el κορωνίδα (architecture: an upright member) · sh vrhunac (tall, sharp and craggy rock or mountain) · sh vrhunac (highest point) · fr pic (tall, sharp and craggy rock or mountain) · sv fial (architecture: an upright member) · ja 頂上 (highest point) · de Gipfel (highest point) · pl sterczyna (architecture: an upright member) · ota قله (highest point) · ga stuaic (architecture: an upright member) · it cima (highest point) · sh šiljak (tall, sharp and craggy rock or mountain) · bg връх (figuratively: all-time high) · nl spits (tall, sharp and craggy rock or mountain) · de Pinakel (architecture: an upright member) · ota ذروه (highest point) · tr doruk (tall, sharp and craggy rock or mountain) · sh врхунац (highest point) · nl spits (highest point) · cs špice (tall, sharp and craggy rock or mountain) · ota تپه (highest point) · pl fiala (architecture: an upright member) · pt pináculo (architecture: an upright member) · fi huippu (highest point) · ru пик (figuratively: all-time high) · nl top (highest point) · tr doruk noktası (figuratively: all-time high) · ota طوروق (highest point) · hy գագաթնակետ (highest point) · bg шпиц (architecture: an upright member) · cy crib (tall, sharp and craggy rock or mountain) · fi huippukohta (highest point) · cy pinacl (architecture: an upright member) · ms puncak (highest point) · ga spuaic (highest point) · it pinnacolo (architecture: an upright member) · fi kohokohta (figuratively: all-time high) · fi kalliopaasi (tall, sharp and craggy rock or mountain) · mi karamatamata (highest point) · el πτερύγιο (architecture: an upright member) · it picco (tall, sharp and craggy rock or mountain) · tr doruk (highest point) · fi terävä huippu (tall, sharp and craggy rock or mountain) · ka მწვერვალი (tall, sharp and craggy rock or mountain) · mi karamata (figuratively: all-time high) · mi taumata (highest point) · it apogeo (figuratively: all-time high) · bg връхна точка (highest point) · fr pinacle (architecture: an upright member) · it cima (tall, sharp and craggy rock or mountain) · nl toppunt (figuratively: all-time high) · it cuspide (highest point) · fi pinaakkeli (architecture: an upright member) · ota ذروه (tall, sharp and craggy rock or mountain) · de Fiale (architecture: an upright member) · cs vrcholek (highest point) · de Höhepunkt (figuratively: all-time high) · cy copa (tall, sharp and craggy rock or mountain) · ru пик (highest point) · fi huippuhetki (figuratively: all-time high) · it guglia (highest point) · fr cime (highest point) · ota طوروق (tall, sharp and craggy rock or mountain) · ga buaic (highest point) · sh врх (highest point) · tr zirve (highest point) · grc πτερύγιον (architecture: an upright member) · tl karurukan (highest point) · sa शिरस् (highest point) · de Felsnadel (tall, sharp and craggy rock or mountain) · hi चरम (figuratively: all-time high) · sh vrh (highest point) · ru вы́сшая то́чка (highest point) · ka მწვერვალი (highest point) · ota تپه (tall, sharp and craggy rock or mountain) · it picco (highest point) · da fiale (architecture: an upright member) · tr zirve (tall, sharp and craggy rock or mountain) · tr şahika (tall, sharp and craggy rock or mountain) · tr doruk (figuratively: all-time high) · ar قِمَّة (highest point) · mi tihi (highest point) · ga stuaic (tall, sharp and craggy rock or mountain) · cy uchafbwynt (figuratively: all-time high) · es pico (tall, sharp and craggy rock or mountain) · grc κορωνίς (architecture: an upright member) · cs špička (tall, sharp and craggy rock or mountain) · fi fiaali (architecture: an upright member) · it culmine (figuratively: all-time high) · sh vrh (tall, sharp and craggy rock or mountain) · it apice (figuratively: all-time high) · hi शिखर (highest point) · cs (absolutní) špička (figuratively: all-time high) · dsb wjerch (highest point) · ru верши́на (highest point) · cs vrchol (highest point) · es pináculo (figuratively: all-time high) · hi शिखर (architecture: an upright member) · tr şahika (highest point) · ru остроконе́чная скала́ (tall, sharp and craggy rock or mountain) · es pináculo (architecture: an upright member) · cy uchafbwynt (highest point) · es ápice (figuratively: all-time high) · cy brig (highest point) · ca pinacle (architecture: an upright member) · es cumbre (highest point) · ota قله (tall, sharp and craggy rock or mountain) · es pináculo (highest point)