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The Collaborative International Dictionary
Pile dwelling

Pile \Pile\, n. [AS. p[=i]l arrow, stake, L. pilum javelin; but cf. also L. pila pillar.]

  1. A large stake, or piece of timber, pointed and driven into the earth, as at the bottom of a river, or in a harbor where the ground is soft, for the support of a building, a pier, or other superstructure, or to form a cofferdam, etc.

    Note: Tubular iron piles are now much used.

  2. [Cf. F. pile.] (Her.) One of the ordinaries or subordinaries having the form of a wedge, usually placed palewise, with the broadest end uppermost.

    Pile bridge, a bridge of which the roadway is supported on piles.

    Pile cap, a beam resting upon and connecting the heads of piles.

    Pile driver, or Pile engine, an apparatus for driving down piles, consisting usually of a high frame, with suitable appliances for raising to a height (by animal or steam power, the explosion of gunpowder, etc.) a heavy mass of iron, which falls upon the pile.

    Pile dwelling. See Lake dwelling, under Lake.

    Pile plank (Hydraul. Eng.), a thick plank used as a pile in sheet piling. See Sheet piling, under Piling.

    Pneumatic pile. See under Pneumatic.

    Screw pile, one with a screw at the lower end, and sunk by rotation aided by pressure.

WordNet
pile dwelling

n. dwelling built on piles in or near a lake; specifically in prehistoric villages [syn: lake dwelling]

Usage examples of "pile dwelling".

O moon of the past, moon of the blissful nights, moon above the pile dwelling among the reeds!