From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishpilasterpi‧las‧ter /pəˈlæstə $ -ər/ noun [countable] TBBa flat square column attached to the wall of a building for decoration
Examples from the Corpus
pilaster• Outside are pilaster strips and there are also arched corbel tables.• The entrances are marked by pilasters or engaged columns supported on a triangular gable.• The external walls of the churches are decorated simply by pilaster strips and corbelled string courses with arcading, as in Lombardy.• At least three pitched stone supports along the inside may have supported engaged pilasters or a bench.• He describes its every blind arched chimney and fluted pilaster.• The top storey has no openings and the order is in pilaster form.• It is simple, decorated only with flat, low pilasters in brick, and has a belfry and pyramid above.• The royal hunting-lodge of Falkland in Fife was transformed into a Renaissance palace, ornate with pilasters, medallions and allegorical statuary.Origin pilaster (1500-1600) French pilastre, from Italian, from Latin pila; → PILLAR 