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pyramidn. Origin: Of multiple origins. Partly a borrowing from French. Partly a borrowing from Latin. Etymons: French pyramide; Latin pȳramid-, pȳramis. Etymology: < Middle French, French pyramide, †piramide (in architecture) Egyptian funerary monument, building of a similar shape (c1160 in Old French), (in geometry) specific kind of polyhedron (1370), object or arrangement of objects in the shape of pyramid (15th cent.) and its etymon classical Latin pȳramid-, pȳramis (in post-classical Latin also piramis (11th cent. or earlier)) monumental structure built in ancient Egypt and used as a royal tomb, (in geometry) solid figure having the form of such a monument, any structure of this shape, natural object of this form < ancient Greek πυραμίδ-, πυραμίς monumental structure built in ancient Egypt and used as a royal tomb, (in geometry) solid figure having the form of such a monument, of unknown origin (see note). Compare Old French piramz pyramidal shape (1272 in an apparently isolated attestation describing a bird of prey), Catalan piràmide (1617 as piràmida, originally in geometry), Spanish pirámide (1439 cent., originally in geometry), Portuguese pirâmide (late 16th cent.), Italian piramide (1292 describing the shape of a shadow, a1375 in architecture, a1537 in geometry); also Dutch piramide (1566), German Pyramide (1494), both originally in sense ‘Egyptian funerary monument’.Ancient Greek πυραμίς is explained by some ancient authors as a derivative of πῦρ fire (see pyro- comb. form), on account of its pointed shape, by others as < πυρός wheat, grain (see pyrene n.1), as if a granary. Compare ancient Greek πυραμίς kind of cake, which does derive < πυρός wheat, grain; it has been suggested that the word was used to denote an Egyptian monument as having the same shape as the cake, but the shape of the cake is otherwise unknown so this theory remains speculative. The suggested derivation from Egyptian pr-m-us height (of a pyramid) is doubtful. The evidence of verse shows that in the early modern period the word showed plurals of two types: firstly (closely following the morphology of the Latin word) plural forms with stress on the second syllable, which were either quadrisyllabic (as in Latin) or trisyllabic (with the English plural ending -s , -es ) (see α. forms); secondly, plural forms with stress on the first syllable (and with the English plural ending -s , -es ) (see β. forms). In some cases (e.g. the Middle English form piramudes , which is attested only in prose) the assignment to α. or β. forms cannot be taken as definite. The (rare) γ. forms apparently arise from misapprehension of piramis as a plural form, with the form pirami apparently showing an inferred singular. The δ. forms arise from misinterpretation of the α. plural forms as singular. Compare the secondary plural piramidesses in this sequence. With the form pirament compare α. forms at pediment n. I. A pyramidical structure. 1. the world > space > shape > curvature > curved three-dimensional shape or body > [noun] > conical quality > cone the world > relative properties > number > geometry > shape or figure > [noun] > three-dimensional > cone a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus (BL Add.) f. 329 Piramis is a figure y-schape in þis wise, wyde byneþe and streight aboue. a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus (BL Add.) f. 24 Alle þe lynes þat buth Idrawe fro al þe parties of þe þing þat is seen makeþ a piranus [read a piramis, L. unam piramidem] I-schape as a toppe [a1425 Morgan trompe]. 1570 H. Billingsley tr. Euclid xi. f. 314 A Pyramis is a solide figure contained vnder many playne superficieces set vpon one playne superficies, and gathered together to one point. 1603 P. Holland tr. Plutarch 1322 The shadow of the earth being round, groweth point-wise or sharp at the end, in maner of a cone or pyramis. a1652 I. Jones (1655) 105 That Fire hath the form of a Pyramis is evident. 1680 W. Temple Ess. Orig. & Nature Govt. in (1731) I. 105 The Rules of Architecture,..teach us that the Pyramid is of all Figures the firmest. 1751 W. Webster tr. P. Hoste (ed. 2) II. 57 A Pyramid is a body bounded by one right-lin'd plane, and an infinite number of right lines, drawn from the circumference of the said right lin'd plane, to a point without it. 1795 C. Hutton (at cited word) A cone is a round Pyramid, or one having an infinite number of sides... The axis of the Pyramid, is the line drawn from the vertex to the centre of the base. When this axis is perpendicular to the base, the Pyramid is said to be a right one; otherwise it is oblique. 1821 Oct. 378 A pyramid must be greater than the fourth, and less than the half of the product of its base by its altitude. 1875 A. W. Bennett & W. T. T. Dyer tr. J. von Sachs 367 The apical cell has..the form of an inverted triangular pyramid. 1919 F. Cajori (ed. 2) 27 The sphere and the regular solids have been studied to some extent, but the prism, pyramid, cylinder, and cone were hardly known to exist. 1981 M. A. Parker & F. Pickup (ed. 3) iv. 108 The lateral surfaces of a pyramid are triangular and the pattern consists of these triangles drawn in order, side by side, and in true shape. 2000 73 186 We want to glue the corresponding edges of the triangles together to make a pyramid. the world > space > shape > angularity > specific angular shape > [noun] > triangle > figure made up of triangles > pyramid > point of 1649 Bp. J. Taylor i. ii. §21 A great Body of Light transmitting his rayes through a narrow hollownesse does by that small Pyramis represent all the parts of the magnitude. 1649 Bp. J. Taylor i. v. §6 The rayes of light passing through the thin air, end in a small and undiscerned pyramis. the world > life > death > obsequies > monument > [noun] > pyramid society > communication > record > memorial or monument > [noun] > structure or erection > stone > others a1500 Let. Alexander l. 549 in (1979) 41 143 Vpon this valley bien piramudes [L. piramides] ordeigned, that is to say, sepultures, of tymber made. 1555 R. Eden in tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Pref. sig. ajv The hugious heapes of stones of the Pyramides of Egypt. 1599 in R. Hakluyt (new ed.) II. i. 201 Without the Citie, sixe miles higher into the land, are to be seene neere vnto the riuer diuerse Piramides, among which are three marueilous great, and very artificially wrought. 1620 F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher iv. 51 Place me some god, on a Pyramades, higher then Hils of earth. 1663 W. Charleton 59 We read in Herodotus of one huge Pyramid, built by King Cleopes, in which was not one stone less than 30 foot long, and all of them fetch'd from Arabia the Rocky. 1711 J. Addison No. 1. ¶4 I made a Voyage to Grand Cairo, on purpose to take the Measure of a Pyramid. 1759 S. Johnson II. 46 A king, whose power is unlimited, and whose treasures surmount all real and imaginary wants, is compelled to solace, by the erection of a pyramid, the satiety of dominion and tastelessness of pleasures. 1813 P. B. Shelley ii. 23 Nile shall pursue his changeless way: Those pyramids shall fall. 1843 W. H. Prescott II. iv. vii. 234 [A Mexican teocalli.] A stone building on the usual pyramidal basis; and the ascent was by a flight of steep steps on one of the faces of the pyramid. 1911 XXVI. 14/2 Many of the pyramids have a small shrine on the eastern side inscribed with debased Egyptian or Meroite hieroglyphics. 1948 A. Christie i. iv. 36 Did you read the book on the Pyramid prophecies I sent you?.. Really explains everything. 1985 (Nexis) 6 Dec. 2 Francois Mitterrand's costly and controversial glass pyramid is being constructed in the grounds of the Louvre. 2003 62 341/1 One can see on the horizon the third in the triad of major monuments in the southeastern quandrant of Castle Howard's extended landscape. This is the Pyramid, built in 1728. 2005 D. Cruickshank 14 For me these pyramids and tombs are haunting. They remind me of the larger and far older stepped pyramids or ziggurats of Mesopotamia. 3. society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > architecture > other elements > [noun] > pyramid (Harl. 221) 397 Pykewalle [?a1475 Winch. Pyk walle] (or gabyl, supra.), Murus conalis, piramis, vel piramidalis.] a1552 J. Leland (1710) I. 77 Ther be 3. great old Toures with pyra(mides on) them. 1595 in Hist. MSS Comm.: Rep. MSS Var. Coll. (1904) III. Introd. p. xxxviii, in (Cd. 1964) XLIII. 559 The free mazons finishinge..four of the topstones for the piramidesses. 1602 B. Jonson iii. i. sig. D3 I affect not these high Gable ends, these Tuscan tops, nor your Coronets, nor your Arches, nor your Pyramid 's. View more context for this quotation 1625 T. Browne in Darcie i. 82 A most rare Piramide of the Cathedrall Church of Saint Paul, in London, was strucken..with fire from heaven. 1687 A. Lovell tr. J. de Thévenot ii. 60 I could observe..a square Minaret that spires into a Pyramid. c1710 C. Fiennes (1888) 78 Two piramidies full of pipes spouting water. 1795 W. MacRitchie 21 Aug. (1897) 123 Forming a fine object with a pyramid rising over the centre of the buildings and covering the arch through which the highway passes. 1907 Sept. 350/1 From the lofty steeple of S. Maria Maggiore..can be seen on one side the pyramid of S. Lorenzo. 1979 61 114/2 The pyramid was set over the upper tabernacle; and crockets were added to the main gable. society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > dwelling place or abode > a dwelling > tent > [noun] > other types of tent 1889 24 Oct. 278 There were A tents, wall tents, round tents.., pyramid tents, tents as big as a house and as small as a dog kennel. 1919 Mar. 331/2 The ‘pyramid’ is one of the least expensive of tents. 1966 P. Temple 111 The Pyramid was a tried and trusty design, used on most Antarctic journeys. 1985 M. Parfit x. 122 It seemed the wind must blow the little yellow pyramid tents into rags. 4. the world > space > shape > angularity > specific angular shape > [noun] > triangle > figure made up of triangles > pyramid the world > relative properties > number > geometry > shape or figure > [noun] > three-dimensional > cone > pyramid the world > space > shape > angularity > specific angular shape > [noun] > triangle > figure made up of triangles > pyramid > pyramidal object or formation the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > state of being gathered together > an assemblage or collection > [noun] > mass formed by collection of particles > an accumulation > heap or pile > pyramidal 1570 J. Dee in H. Billingsley tr. Euclid Math. Præf. sig. cij Make of Copper plates,..a foursquare vpright Pyramis, or a Cone. 1598 A. M. tr. J. Guillemeau i. iv. f. 7v/1 The poynt a piramide of or Trepane. 1634 T. Herbert 4 The top of this Peake or Pyramide [sc. Teneriffe]..seldome without Snow. 1651 T. Stanley 77 Or when one flame twined with another is They both ascend in one bright pyramis. 1735 J. Swift Gulliver Introd. Let., in III. p. iii Smithfield blazing with Pyramids of Law-Books. 1756 tr. J. G. Keyssler I. 347 On each side of the altar, stands a pyramid of bones. 1810 W. Scott i. 14 A rocky pyramid, Shooting abruptly from the dell Its thunder-splintered pinnacle. 1886 C. E. Pascoe (ed. 3) xvi. 137 Horse-chestnuts with massive pyramids of white blossom. 1915 V. Woolf xxiii. 378 She regarded with complacency the pyramid of variegated fruits in the centre of the table. 1954 R. Wailes i. 16 On a wooden framework..on top of these casings are inverted wooden pyramids which are the hoppers. 1995 Nov. 258/1 You've developed the skill and discipline to sit there and build your pyramid of sugar cubes. the world > plants > by growth or development > defined by habit > tree or woody plant > cultivated or valued > [noun] > trained into particular form a1684 J. Evelyn anno 1646 (1955) II. 487 At Entrance of this Garden grows the goodliest Cypresse I fancy in Europ, Cut in Pyramid.] 1703 tr. H. van Oosten i. xiv. 31 It will not be amiss to mention here, after what manner an Artist in his pleasant Garden Fruit of Amsterdam has showed, to make Pyramids out of most Fruit Trees. 1712 J. Byrom Let. 24 June in (1854) I. i. 18 The pyramid yew trees are set in the nursery. ?1780 S. Cooke (new ed.) 20 The striped holly..cannot be pruned into those nice figures which most other trees admit of, and are therefore converted into a ball, a pyramid, or headed. 1868 14 May 6/1 The..way in which we may improve the cultivation of the pear is by planting it..as a pyramid tree, and grafted on the quince where the soils are rich and moist. 1882 14 Jan. 19/3 Long lines of pyramid Apples and Pears. 1902 H. H. Thomas 69 Duchess of Oldenburg... One of the best early apples, succeeding almost anywhere either as a pyramid or a standard. 1956 (Royal Hort. Soc.) (ed. 2) I. 148/1 The pyramid differing from the bush by the retention of the main stem with its branches in the middle of the tree is sometimes planted. 1990 Nov. 30/2 Apples, pears, plums and peaches can all be grown as dwarf pyramids, which is also a suitable form for trees in pots. 5. the world > space > shape > angularity > specific angular shape > [noun] > triangle > triangular object or formation society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > board game > [noun] > piece > formation of pieces society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > board game > chess > [noun] > formation of pieces society > leisure > the arts > literature > poetry > poem or piece of poetry > types of poem according to form > [noun] > concrete poetry > types of concrete poem society > leisure > sport > types of play, actions, or postures > [noun] > formation of players 1589 G. Puttenham ii. xi. 78 Of the Spire or Taper called Pyramis... In metrifying his base can not well be larger then a meetre of six,..neare the toppe there wilbe roome litle inough for a meetre of two sillables, and sometimes of one to finish the point. ?1650 194 The Emperor gathering his men in form of Pyramids. 1658 Sir T. Browne Garden of Cyrus ii, in 112 In Chesse-boards and Tables we yet finde Pyramids and Squares. 1722 D. Defoe 40 The Word Abracadabra, form'd in Triangle, or Pyramid. 1789 2 May 3/3 The ship Carolina formed a beautiful pyramid of Stars. 1869 H. F. Tozer I. 104 When the sun rose, the shadow of the peak was projected over sea and land..in a distinctly marked pyramid. 1899 A. H. Quinn 25 It was Penn's ball. The pyramid started with the cheers of ten thousand back of it. 1948 C. Day Lewis iv. 39 Peter..who is super at gym.,..began a routine of tumbling, pyramids, etc. 1973 28 Mar. 15/2 There was nothing new about one line [bingo] games or games such as the ‘pyramid’ and the ‘sandwich’. 2000 Sept. 288/1 He pulls out a glittering sinuous evening gown that looks black from one angle and red from another, by way of tiny sequins that have been stitched in tramlines of pyramids. society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > billiards, pool, or snooker > [noun] > varieties of game 1850 H. G. Bohn et al. 554 Pyramid.—This game..can be played with any number of balls,..but the usual number is sixteen, viz. fifteen coloured, and one white... The fifteen coloured balls are placed on the table in the form of a triangle: the first, or point, being on the winning spot. 1896 W. J. Ford in W. Broadfoot et al. (Badminton Libr. of Sports & Pastimes) xiii. 424 Snooker—or to give it its full title, Snooker's Pool—is a hybrid game, half pool and half pyramids. 1907 1026/2 Pool and pyramid accessories... Pyramid balls. 1940 M. Sadleir i. i. 35 The huge ground glass window of The Happy Warrior..was absolutely blank. No white appliqué lettering spoke of ‘Cigars’, ‘Billiards’, ‘Pyramid’ or ‘Pool’. 2006 (Nexis) 15 Jan. 67 Snooker was first played by Colonel Sir Neville Chamberlain..in India in 1875 as a hybrid of pyramids, black pool and billiards. 6. the world > life > biology > physical aspects or shapes > shape > [noun] > cone or pyramid the world > life > the body > nervous system > cerebrospinal axis > brain > parts of brain > [noun] > medulla oblongata > parts of or associated with 1703 tr. P. Dionis 158 When the Urine is thus separated, they empty it into several small Pipes, which re unite and so form the Mammillary Pyramids. 1712 (Royal Soc.) 27 75 These Pyramids, which receive the Hairs, are impacted in the Cutis. 1805 14 329 The most important..pair of nerves is what was hitherto called the pyramids, this fascicle of nerves is the origin of the cerebrum, or the hemispherii cerebri. 1827 28 Apr. 113/2 The extraordinary delicate consistence of the nervous filaments, and their existence, concealed in the substance of the pyramid of the temporal bone, render the researches on this anastomosis of nerves very difficult. 1847–9 IV. i. 237/2 The medullary substance..presents itself under the form of cones or pyramids (pyramids of Malpighi). 1869 T. H. Huxley (ed. 3) xi. 303 At the lower and front part of the medulla oblongata, these [efferent impulses]..cross over; and the white fibres which convey them are seen passing obliquely from left to right and from right to left in what is called the decussation of the anterior pyramids. 1881 E. Behnke (ed. 2) 36 The remaining two cartilages [of the larynx]..are the Pyramids, so called because of their shape. 1901 M. Foster 116 The several constituent kidneys might be distinguished as masses of Bellini's tubules arranged in the form of pyramids, the pyramids since known as the pyramids of Malpighi. 1930 H. G. Newth (ed. 11) xiv. 392 At the outer sides of the pyramids, immediately behind the pons Varolii, are a pair of oblong patches of transverse nerve-fibres, the corpora trapezoidea. 1983 40 106 In a patient with cerebrocranial trauma that resulted in a fracture of the pyramid of temporal bone, disappearance of neurologic and otologic symptoms was followed for a long period by an isolated disturbance of the tympanic nerve. 2006 26 330 The fetal renal lobulation was prominent and on section, the pyramids were delineated within each lobule, accounting for the clear image of the pyramids observed on sonography. 1870 H. A. Nicholson I. xix. 127 The digestive system of the Echinus consists of a mouth, armed with five long, calcareous, rod-like teeth, which perforate five triangular pyramids, the whole forming a singular structure, known as ‘Aristotle's lantern’. 1909 178 491 The presence or absence of auricles, teeth and pyramids forms the basis of Zittel's classification of the irregular Echini into Gnathostomata and Atelostomata. 1955 L. H. Hyman IV. ix. 463 The lantern is formed of five main interradial pieces, the pyramids.., each of which consists of two pieces, the half pyramids, closely joined by a suture. 1997 B. 264 1526 (caption) The dental promoter muscle is attached proximally to the stereom of the pyramid, and distally to a membrane surrounding the plumular end of the tooth. the world > matter > chemistry > crystallography (general) > crystal (general) > specific crystal forms > [noun] > miscellaneous others 1748 J. Hill I. 154 Crystal..consisting..of eighteen sides, dispos'd in order of an hexangular column, terminated by an hexangular pyramid at each end. 1800 tr. E. J. B. Bouillon-Lagrange I. 190 A salt, under the form of a solid with eighteen sides, terminated at each extremity by a pyramid of six faces. 1836–41 W. T. Brande (ed. 5) 663 Large right rectangular prisms, terminated by a four-sided pyramid. 1895 N. Story-Maskelyne §201 The terms proto- and deutero-pyramid have been applied by various writers somewhat ambiguously to the diplo-pyramidal figures, or, in crystallographic language, pyramids, which have been here termed isosceles octahedra. 1959 C. S. Hurlbut (ed. 17) ii. 68 Figure 150 represents a zincite crystal with a hexagonal prism terminated above by a hexagonal pyramid and below by a pedion. 2005 285 682/2 The faces of the original Archimedian solids grow into tetrahedral pyramids, with the base of each pyramid being the original polyhedral face. II. Extended uses. 1602 W. Watson Pref. sig. A2v He also was cast off from the highest Pyramides of fortunes wheele. ?1606 M. Drayton Eglog iv, in sig. D7v He that to worlds Pyramides will build On those great Heroes..Should haue a pen. 1670 C. Cotton tr. G. Girard ii. vii. 313 The most glorious Act of his life,..which..ought to be plac'd on the highest Pyramis of his Fame. 1793 N. Webster 21 The more elevated the man on the pyramid of power, the farther is he removed from the rest of the human race. 1826 B. Disraeli I. ii. i. 70 The apex of the pyramid of his ambition was at length visible. 1882 F. W. Farrar II. 488 To me the whole theory looks like an inverted pyramid of inference tottering about upon its extremely narrow apex. 1901 Feb. 292 The strict observance of the rules of Caste, with the Brâhman as the top-stone of the social pyramid, was everything. 1920 F. S. Fitzgerald ii. iii. 252 He had spent the days in watching Eleanor..build herself intellectual and imaginative pyramids. 1949 ‘G. Orwell’ ii. 209 At the apex of the pyramid comes Big Brother. Big Brother is infallible and all-powerful. 1996 P. H. Duesberg iv. 104 James Shannon's retirement from directing the NIH in 1968 left a decided vacuum at the top of the biomedical research pyramid. the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > textile fabric > textile fabric made from specific material > made from mixed fibres > [noun] > silk and wool ?c1610 Allegations Worsted Weavers in J. James (1857) vi. 144 (modernized text) This cloth [sc. say] hath continued its name and fashion till this day; but, now lately, by putting the same into colours, and twisting one third of one colour with another colour, being made narrow, it is now called piramides. 1640 5 Sept. (Corporation of London Rec. Office) CH92 membrane 7/2 Stuffes vocat..Piramides or Marimuffes the narrowe peec id Piramides or Marimuffes the broad peece iid. 10. society > trade and finance > stocks and shares > [noun] > specific operations or arrangements 1888 1 Sept. 10/3 On the regular market there was free selling by leading firms..and this had induced a letting go by some of the ‘pyramid builders’ who had loaded up a little at the bottom and a great deal near the top. 1893 30 July 17/2 Another neat system is known as the ‘pyramid’, and is about as follows: You buy a hundred shares at 90, and deposit $500 margin. The stock goes to 95. You have now $500 paper profit..you buy another hundred at 95. 1932 14 May 22/1 The bankers who were setting up the biggest financial pyramids of yesterday are replaced by other steel-nerved bankers today. 1971 26 Feb. 701/1 In 1969..at the height of the boom, an investment pyramid, Bivec, was floated. It had a 50 per cent interest in BBH and also controlled the properties of both Berzack and Illman. 1996 B. Connolly (ed. 2) vii. 173 Complicated pyramids of highly-leveraged deals in derivatives allowed a more efficient management of financial risk—as long as there was sufficient liquidity. the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > defrauding or swindling > [noun] > scheme > commercial or financial 1905 in P. S. Reinsch (1909) 392 A New York concern..had a scheme for selling fountain pens for $2.50 each, and employing at $8 a week in advertising letter-writing everybody who bought a pen. It was an endless-chain scheme... This inverted financial pyramid was not thought stable.] 1920 15 Aug. b4/2 He [sc. Charles Ponzi] paid fifty per cent dividends to first investors from the receipts of later ones. Those at the bottom of the pyramid will get what the receivers in bankruptcy can find. 1949 22 Mar. 1/6 All night long people would call me up to ask how the pyramids work. 1984 28 Mar. a6/3 It's illegal to promote pyramids and those who participate in them can also be prosecuted. 1997 Apr. 93/2 The Government never anticipated that anyone would join a pyramid scheme which sold nothing except membership of itself!.. It has taken two decades for it to catch up and ban pyramids. 1927 C. Elton v. 70 This arrangement of numbers in the community, the relative decrease in numbers at each stage in a food-chain, is characteristically found in animal communities all over the world, and to it we have applied the term ‘pyramid of numbers’. 1940 24 179 This periodic change in animal protein is notable in that it increases the food supply in the upper third of the Eltonian pyramid. 1958 14 386 [It is] only because birds are so high in the ecological pyramid that their densities related to the available foraging area are relatively so low. 1973 P. A. Colinvaux ix. 132 The distribution as well as the abundance of animals was reflected in the pyramid of numbers, the larger animals being more wide ranging as well as less numerous than the small animals. 1987 37 613/2 In talking of ecology, pyramids of energy content are confused with..pyramids of energy flow. The former are just minor variants of pyramids of biomass, and..thermodynamics does not dictate any taper in successively higher levels. 1997 24 704/1 The number of carnivorous species of mammals..is less than the number of herbivorous species on the same islands, reflecting the Eltonian pyramid. Compounds C1. a. General attributive, objective, and similative. 1856 29 May 2/2 The 1,900,000 francs assigned to Cairo, were subscribed by fifty different individuals, the majority of whom were of the stock of the Pyramid builders. 1913 H. R. Hall ii. 41 In the age of the Pyramid-builders we find well-baked wheel-made pottery universal. 1991 J. Howe in J. Sherzer & G. Urban i. 41 The Kuna are neither dirty and disorderly nor the descendants of Vikings and Mayan pyramid builders. 1845 ‘E. Warburton’ II. xxxii. 9 Pyramid-building was then the fashion in the family. 1961 L. Mumford v. 152 All this..was pyramid-building, both in the Egyptian and later Keynesian sense of the words. 2007 (Nexis) 5 Jan. 29 Circus Oz offers free classes with tips on juggling, pyramid-building and clowning. 1613 S. Purchas viii. xii. 670 A mount of earth and stone fiftie fadome long euery way, built Pyramide-fashion. 1716 tr. Tacitus III. ii. 109 The image of the Goddess here is..a continued Round, rising smaller, Pyramid fashion, till it come at last to a point. 1850 29 June 336/2 His cowl rising pyramid-fashion. 1939 5 Jan. 7/3 One brush has graduated bristles, set pyramid fashion into a 24-inch handle. 1997 B. Moore-Gilbert ii. 36 Foucault rejects the conception of power..as something which percolates downwards pyramid fashion from institutions at the apex like royalty or the state. a1618 J. Sylvester (1620) xliv. sig. B4 Like a pale Piramid pillar. 2002 (Nexis) 31 Jan. 7 It included two one-metre high plinths in laybys.., and two pyramid pillars either side of the centre access. 1808 R. D. Salisbury ii. vi. 97 Plumbsock. Pyramid-shaped stone, corner of fence just south of store. 1855 16 Apr. 2/4 They wear..high pyramid-shaped Persian caps. 1942 J. H. Parsons & H. B. Stallard (ed. 10) xxxii. 657 A pyramid-shaped gauze dressing, with its apex against the wound is firmly applied. 1992 R. E. Hero xi. 197 The minority groups' pyramid-shaped socioeconomic structure suggests a small middle and upper class. b. With reference to the supposed mystical powers of pyramids. 1975 13 July a8/6 (advt.) An evening of fun & adventure on Pyramid energy & its effects by foremost researchers. 2006 (Nexis) 9 May d11 Stephen Cipes..built a replica of the Great Pyramid of Egypt. He firmly believes that harnessing pyramid energy is the key to making fine wine. 1977 June 19/3 The Book of Revelation has remained a happy hunting ground for Jehovah's Witnesses, UFO and Pyramid freaks, and amateur apocalyptics of all denominations. 1975 T. Roszak ii. 69 Advocates of ‘Pyramidology’..are telling us how we may use ‘pyramid power’ in our own home to keep our razor blades sharp forever. 1994 Jan. 200/1 The Hallowells actually believed in:..harmonic convergences, pyramid-power. C2. 1821 Ld. Byron v. i. 140 Regal halls of pyramid proportions. 1968 29 Dec. 35/3 Lost export orders mount to pyramid proportions. 2001 (Nexis) 14 Apr. 42 When young skipper Leigh Colbert announced he was quitting, it was heartbreak of Pyramid proportions for many in Geelong. society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > billiards, pool, or snooker > [noun] > rest 1873 J. Bennett & ‘Cavendish’ 28 The pyramid or spider-rest is cut out at the bottom. the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > defrauding or swindling > [noun] > scheme > commercial or financial 1949 6 Feb. 10 a/1 Pyramid scheme held mathematical monster... 25,159,680 persons would have to contribute their money to insure that the original 24 persons in the bottom line..would collect their $2048. 1968 31 July d15 [A new bill] outlaws ‘endless chain’ or pyramid schemes. 1997 25 Jan. 43/1 The losses incurred by perhaps half of all Albanian families as a result of collapsing pyramid schemes may hurt the government. 1869 S. Tenney App. Table xxii. Pyramidellidæ or Pyramid Shell Family. 1901 E. Step xv. 250 The Pyramid-shells (Odostomia) are well represented on our shores by a score of species. 1985 K. Banister & A. Campbell 255/3 Order Pyramidellomorpha. Pyramid shells (Pyramidellidae). 1868 R. Crawley 41 The white pins or skittles..are to be placed nine inches from the baulk line, and those..on similar spots at the other end of the table in a line with the pyramid spot. 1962 L. C. Stone in L. B. Wright & V. A. LaMar xi. 453 Sixteenth-century [billiards] players used a small ivory arch called a port which stood where the pyramid spot stands now. 2006 (Nexis) 14 Mar. 49 What colour ball would you find on the pyramid spot at the start of a frame of snooker? 1889 9 283 The Pyramid Texts discovered by Maspero in Pyramids of Kings of the IV., V. and VI. Dynasties (3000–2500 B.C.). 1936 12 Feb. 6/3 In all the Pyramid texts the word Death never occurs except in the negative, or applied to a foe. 2000 J. E. Wright i. 23 Pyramid Text §517 seems to locate the Field of Rushes in the celestial realm. 1890 4 Jan. 7/1 A pyramid trained tree consists essentially of an upright stem, and as many side branches as can be..trained without overcrowding. 1905 16 Oct. 14/3 (advt.) Ornamental and Flowering Shrubs from Holland, Bays, standard and Pyramid-trained. 1887 G. Nicholson III. 47/1 Pyramid training is largely practised with Pear-trees... Pyramids may be procured worked either on the Pear stock or on the Quince. C3. society > trade and finance > selling > [adjective] > selling methods or techniques 1949 [see pyramid scheme n. at Compounds 2]. 1965 22 Dec. 14 The latest gimmick..is a sort of pyramid selling scheme. 1970 24 Sept. 12/1 Pyramid sales is a system whereby goods are sold, often at an inflated price, but a reduction in price is offered to purchasers who supply the names of others who buy the product. 1986 (Nexis) 5 July b8 Eight people have been charged after police investigated an alleged pyramid system that promised the top player $17,600 if the scheme did not collapse first. 1998 (Nexis) 22 Dec. With legal multi-level marketing, distributors' income comes from the selling of products, but pyramid distributors make their money by recruiting new members. 2001 (Nexis) 30 July 2 Pyramid investment or ‘gifting’ schemes depend on the recruitment of new members to gift money to those at the apex. society > trade and finance > management of money > income, revenue, or profit > getting or making money > [adjective] > system of profit involving subcontracting 1964 1 Apr. 24/5 Douglas sub-contracted the work to another firm, made only a plastic cover itself and then charged on the basis of the total cost. The Senate report..was on public hearings in 1962 into ‘pyramid’ profits of this type. 2006 (Nexis) 20 Mar. a1 It's trickle-down contracting: You're paying a cut at every level, and it makes the final cost exponentially more expensive than it needs to be... In almost every case, the local people who really need to be making the money are at the bottom of these upside-down pyramid schemes. Derivatives 1613 S. Purchas iii. vi. 226 The Captaine with great pompe presenteth that Pyramidlike Vestment. 1742 H. Baker xlix. 264 One End constantly terminates either in a pyramid-like Point, or else in a sharp Edge. 1838 (1843) 133 This gateway is the pyramid-like building that one sees outside. 1968 18 Nov. 6/8 Large businesses which have a pyramid-like structure always favour the older man. the world > space > shape > angularity > specific angular shape > [adverb] > triangle > pyramid 1589 E. Hayes Voy. Sir H. Gilbert in R. Hakluyt 159 We met with very foule weather, and terrible seas, breaking short and high Pyramid wise. 1616 G. Markham tr. C. Estienne et al. (rev. ed.) ii. lxii. 318 Neither must they be made as some are flat at the top, and shallow, but ascending pyramid wise, smaller and smaller till it come to the top. a1722 E. Lisle (1757) 494 The haycocks..are made with a broad bottom and sharp top, pyramidwise. 1854 Jan. 2 The Anglo-Saxon mind builds upon a broad basis of facts or phenomena successive series of generalizations, pyramid-wise, culminating in some single law. 1928 26 Oct. 15/5 I was putting the great persimmons into a dish, pyramidwise. 2003 A. Wolff vi. 154 Each night all the boats were dressed with lamps rigged out pyramid-wise. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2007; most recently modified version published online June 2022). pyramidv. Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: pyramid n. Etymology: < pyramid n. Compare post-classical Latin pyramidare to give the appearance of a pyramid or cone to (13th cent. in British sources), French pyramider to arrange in the shape of a pyramid (1490 in Middle French, subsequently from the late 17th cent.), (of a work of art) to be arranged in the shape of a pyramid (18th cent.). the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > state of being gathered together > gather together [verb (transitive)] > gather in one mass or form lumps > accumulate > heap or pile up a1666 R. Fanshawe tr. A. Hurtado de Mendoza Fiestas de Aranjuez 7 in tr. A. Hurtado de Mendoza (1670) Many Jewels and Flowers in their Head-Dresses, Pyramided in a Mountain of Plumes [Sp. rematando en penachos de montes de plumas] of both Colours. a1712 W. King tr. P. de la Croix (1714) I. 182 A great Plate pyramided with dainty Fowls. 1857 ‘F. Fern’ 278 See the coffins, Behemoth and Liliputian, pyramided in corners. 1873 1 Mar. 305/1 In the centre of the table..was a tall, glass dish, lined with wet, green leaves, and pyramided with red strawberries. 1940 (Federal Writers' Project) iii. 555 The largest single industry is a paper mill, whose wide yards along the river are pyramided with peeled, bleaching pulpwood chunks. 1964 J. Gould & W. L. Kolb 287/1 Power may be pyramided as in the army or relatively evenly divided as in fellowships. 1995 Nov. 105/1 Book people today want their books where they can get to them... They may be heaped or arranged on tables, pyramided on chairs within arm's reach of the bed. 1845 58 418 It [sc. the light] contributes to the goodness of the picture..if by means of it the groups pyramid and unite well. 3. Finance. society > trade and finance > stocks and shares > deal in stocks and shares [verb (transitive)] > specific operations society > trade and finance > management of money > income, revenue, or profit > getting or making money > get or make money [verb (transitive)] > be profitable to > accumulate (assets) 1888 12 Aug. 12/2 The friend was sorry for the old man and bought 10,000 bushels of wheat; prices went up; the old man ‘pyramided’, and soon there was $18,000 to his credit. 1901 G. H. Lorimer (1903) v. 64 He'd invent a system for speculating in wheat and go on pyramiding his purchases till he'd made the best that Cheops did look like a five-cent plate of ice cream. 1927 P. Marks ii. 23 He pyramided his winnings and piled gold on gold..and finally saw himself a millionaire three times over. 1961 ‘E. Lathen’ xiv. 113 He started pyramiding; put up twenty dollars and got the banks to lend him eighty to a hundred dollars. 1997 (Nexis) 8 Feb. 2 The young enthusiast whose entire experience is reaching for hot ideas and pyramiding his profits..can run you on to the rocks. society > occupation and work > business affairs > a business or company > run a business [verb (transitive)] > manner of forming company 1926 11 158 The separation of ownership from control by non-voting preferred stock and by pyramiding of holding company upon holding company. 1955 A. S. Link ii. xiv. 312 The promoter might pyramid one holding company on top of another almost indefinitely. 2002 (Nexis) 21 Sept. c2 Samuel Insull pyramided utilities into two tangled holding companies—an unfathomable corporate maze. the mind > possession > wealth > be rich [verb (intransitive)] > become rich 1926 28 Jan. 8/3 Her factory output pyramided up every year to six times in value that of all the gold mined in the United States. 1960 I. Jefferies vii. 134 There is something about the spectacle of..Gobbo pyramiding up on property..that I don't quite like. 1962 ‘K. Orvis’ ii. 21 The same ounce of heroin..has pyramided in black-market value. 2006 (Nexis) 24 June d1 The share price pyramided up, lifting the company's total stock market value to $600 million US. society > trade and finance > management of money > expenditure > spend [verb (transitive)] > cost > pass on costs 1929 19 207 In New York these costs were pyramided... Why is it necessary to have two wholesaling companies? 1973 25 June 86/2 Southwestern pyramids its commissions to reward the chain of students and executives above the salesman for each sale. 1994 (Nexis) 30 Mar. a10 The three related companies..were suspected by some Navy officials of ‘pyramiding’ their costs by passing overheads on to each other. Derivatives the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > state of being gathered together > [adjective] > collecting into one mass or body > accumulated > heaping > heaped or piled 1866 T. C. Irwin 209 Toward the far shining crystal height that clave the sky in many a pyramided hill. 1924 H. U. Faulkner xxi. 439 The holding company..has been carried to new refinements by means of ‘voting trusts’, investment trusts, and pyramided holding companies. 2005 (Nexis) 28 Jan. 39 A frat-boy apartment landscape of moldy dishes and pyramided beer cans. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022). <  n.a1398 v.a1666 |
