pylon

noun

Etymology: Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek πυλών (pulṓn, “gateway”).

1. A gateway to the inner part of an Ancient Egyptian temple.
2. A tower-like structure, usually one of a series, used to support high-voltage electricity cables.

   “The highway to the East Coast which ran through the borough of Ebbfield had always been a main road and even now, despite the vast garages, the pylons and the gaily painted factory glasshouses which had sprung up beside it, there still remained an occasional trace of past cultures.”

   “After two pylonless months, July's pylon comes all the way from the hills outside Wellington, New Zealand.”

3. A tall steel or concrete tower from which cables are strung.
4. A lighting mast; a freestanding support for floodlights.
5. A structure used to mount engines, missiles etc., to the underside of an aircraft wing or fuselage.
6. A starting derrick for an aeroplane.
7. A post, tower, etc. as on an aerodrome, or flying ground, serving to bound or mark a prescribed course of flight.
8. An obelisk.

   “The Washington Monument is often described as an obelisk, and sometimes even as a “true obelisk,” even though it is not. A true obelisk is a monolith, a pylon formed out of a single piece of stone.”

9. A traffic cone.
10. An orange marker designating one of the four corners of the end zone in American football.
11. An ineffective, useless player.

    “The defensemen have been total pylons tonight!”

    “So I joined a rec league in October with no hockey experience and little skating experience. While its been fun, there is the problem that I continue to be a pylon.”

12. A rigid prosthesis for the lower leg.

    “McKenzie uses a pylon for all above knee amputees, and orders a permanent leg when function merits it.”

    “During the early postoperative period, before the patient has a prosthesis, they may have a rigid dressing with a pylon.”