Etymologically
Log in

pinnacle

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 31 October 2026 at 13:01. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • /ˈpɪnəkəl/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English pinacle,[2][3] borrowed from Anglo-Norman pinacle and Middle French pinacle,[4][5] and directly borrowed from Late Latin pinnāculum (“peak, gable; small wing”),[4][6][3][2] formed from Latin pinna (“wing, feather; battlement, point”) and the suffix -āculum.[4][7][8] The OED says the Latin noun may have been first a diminutive of pinna in the sense "wing" or in the sense "raised part of a battlement".[4] In the Vulgate (Matthew 4:5) pinnāculum translates Ancient Greek πτερύγιον (pterúgion), in older Greek a small wing, from πτέρυξ (ptérux, “wing”);[4][9] the oldest Latin version had fastigium (“apex, gable”) there.[4] Pinna is an alteration of penna (“feather, wing”),[10][3] and spellings of the English word with e show its influence.[4] The Anglo-Norman word is recorded from the early 13th century, also for the parapet of the Temple in Jerusalem.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

A mountain peak or promontory: probably about 1300, in the romance Guy of Warwick,[3][6] where the OED dates it about 1330 (perhaps about 1300).[4] About the same time Saint Patrick's Purgatory uses it for a structure crowning a building.[4]

Semantic evolution

The architectural sense, a small pointed turret crowning a buttress or roof, is dated to the late 14th century by Etymonline and Barnhart,[6][3] although the OED has it from about 1330.[4] The figurative sense, the highest point of success or achievement, appears about 1400 according to Etymonline,[6] or about 1450 according to the OED.[4] The OED notes that French did not have the peak sense until about 1470 or the figurative sense until 1696.[4] The verb, to crown or surmount, is recorded from before 1525, and "to set on a pinnacle", chiefly in poetry, from 1656.[4][3] The same Latin source gave panache, at first a plume of feathers on a helmet.[11][12]

Timeline

  • c. 1300 – a mountain peak, in Guy of Warwick.[3][6]
  • c. 1330 – a structure crowning a building.[4]
  • c. 1400 – any pointed projection on top of something.[4]
  • c. 1450 – the highest point of achievement.[4]
  • before 1525 – verb, to crown or top.[4]
  • 1656 – verb, to set on a pinnacle.[4][3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The highest point of success, fame or achievement: the pinnacle of her career.[13][4]
  2. A tall, pointed peak of rock or a mountain.[13][4][10]
  3. A small pointed turret or spire on top of a buttress, gable or tower, especially in Gothic architecture.[13][10][4]

Verb

  1. To set on a pinnacle, or as if on one.[13][10][4]
  2. To top with a pinnacle or pinnacles; to crown.[13][10][4]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
  6. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  7. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  9. ^ Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
  10. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  11. ^ Merriam-Webster's Book of Word Histories, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  12. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  13. ^ a b c d e Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins