A pedestal is the base or support that a statue, column, or other object stands on. It can also mean a position of great respect or admiration, as when someone is “put on a pedestal.”
“Pedestal” comes from French *piédestal*, from Italian *piedistallo*, literally “foot of a stall or column,” from *piede* (“foot”) and *stallo* (“stall, place”). It originally just meant the foot or base of a structure.
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