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Added 9 October 2026

pinnacle

/ˈpɪnəkəl/ noun

Latin root: pinnāculum Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about pinnacle at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

(architecture) a slender upright spire at the top of a buttress of tower.
The highest level or degree attainable; the highest stage of development.
his landscapes were deemed the acme of beauty
A lofty peak.

verb

Surmount with a pinnacle.
pinnacle a pediment
Raise on or as if on a pinnacle.
He did not want to be pinnacled

Origin

From Middle English, borrowed from Old French pinacle, pinnacle, from Late Latin pinnāculum (“a peak, pinnacle”), from Latin pinna (“a pinnacle”); see pin. Doublet of panache.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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