释义 |
pin·na·cle I. \ˈpinə̇kəl, -nēk-\ noun (-s) Etymology: Middle English pinacle, from Middle French, from Late Latin pinnaculum gable, small wing, diminutive of Latin pinna battlement, feather, wing, alteration of penna feather, wing — more at pen 1. : an upright architectural member generally ending in a small spire and used especially in Gothic construction to give additional weight to a buttress or an angle pier : finial 2. : a structure or formation suggesting a pinnacle's height and tapering slenderness; specifically : a lofty peak < three silent pinnacles of aged snow — Alfred Tennyson > 3. : the highest point of development or achievement : acme < men who … reached the pinnacle of their profession — advt > < on a pinnacle of happiness — Van Wyck Brooks > [1 pinnacle 1] II. transitive verb (pinnacled ; pinnacled ; pinnacling \-k(ə)liŋ\ ; pinnacles) 1. : to surmount with a pinnacle < pinnacle a pediment > 2. : to raise or rear on or as if on a pinnacle < desired not to be pinnacled … but to sink into the crowd — John Buchan > |