tower

tower
tower1
towerless, adj.towerlike, adj.
/tow"euhr/, n.
1. a building or structure high in proportion to its lateral dimensions, either isolated or forming part of a building.
2. such a structure used as or intended for a stronghold, fortress, prison, etc.
3. any of various fully enclosed fireproof housings for vertical communications, as staircases, between the stories of a building.
4. any structure, contrivance, or object that resembles or suggests a tower.
5. a tall, movable structure used in ancient and medieval warfare in storming a fortified place.
6. a vertical case designed to house a computer system standing on the floor.
7. Aviation. See control tower.
8. tower of strength, a person who can be relied on for support, aid, or comfort, esp. in times of difficulty.
v.i.
9. to rise or extend far upward, as a tower; reach or stand high: The skyscraper towers above the city.
10. to rise above or surpass others: She towers above the other students.
11. Falconry. (of a hawk) to rise straight into the air; to ring up.
[bef. 900; (n.) ME tour, earlier tur, tor < OF < L turris < Gk týrris, var. of týrsis tower; ME tor perh. in some cases continuing OE torr < L turris, as above; (v.) late ME touren, deriv. of the n.]
tower2
/toh"euhr/, n.
a person or thing that tows.
[1485-95; TOW1 + -ER1]

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I
Any freestanding or attached structure that is relatively tall in proportion to its base.

The Romans, Byzantines, and medieval Europeans built defensive towers as part of the fortifications of their city walls (e.g., the Tower of London). Indian temple architecture uses towers of various types (e.g., the sikhara). Towers were an important feature of churches and cathedrals built in the Romanesque and Gothic periods. Some Gothic church towers were designed to carry a spire; others had flat roofs. The Italian campanile could either be attached to a church or freestanding. The use of towers declined somewhat during the Renaissance but reappeared in Baroque architecture. The use of steel frames enabled buildings to reach unprecedented heights; the Eiffel Tower in Paris was the first structure to reveal the true vertical potential of steel construction.
II
(as used in expressions)
Babel Tower of
Tower Joan

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      any structure that is relatively tall in proportion to the dimensions of its base. It may be either freestanding or attached to a building or wall. Modifiers frequently denote a tower's function (e.g., watchtower, water tower, church tower, and so on).

 Historically, there are several types of structures particularly implied by the name. Defensive towers served as platforms from which a defending force could rain missiles down upon an attacking force. The Romans, Byzantines, and medieval Europeans built such towers along their city walls and adjoining important gates. The Romans and other peoples also used offensive, or siege, towers, as raised platforms for attacking troops to overrun high city walls. Military towers often gave their name to an entire fortress; the Tower of London (London, Tower of), for example, includes the entire complex of buildings contiguous with the White Tower of William I the Conqueror.

 Towers were an important feature of the churches and cathedrals built during the Romanesque and Gothic periods. Some Gothic church towers were designed to carry a spire, while others had flat roofs. Many church towers were used as belfries, though the most famous campanile, or bell tower, the Leaning Tower of Pisa (1174), is a freestanding structure. In civic architecture, towers were often used to hold clocks, as in many hotels de ville (town halls) in France and Germany. The use of towers declined somewhat during the Renaissance but reappeared in the more flamboyant Baroque architecture of the 17th and 18th centuries.

 The use of steel frames enabled buildings to reach unprecedented heights in the late 19th and 20th centuries; the Eiffel Tower (1889) in Paris was the first structure to reveal the true vertical potential of steel construction. The ubiquity of modern skyscrapers has robbed the word tower of most of its meaning, though the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the Sears Tower in Chicago, and other skyscrapers still bear the term in their official names.

 In 2007 the world's tallest freestanding building was Taipei 101 (2003; the Taipei Financial Centre), 1,667 feet (508 metres) tall, in Taiwan. The tallest supported structure is a 2,063-foot (629-metre) stayed television broadcasting tower, completed in 1963 and located between Fargo and Blanchard, N.D., U.S.
 

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Tower — Tow er, n. [OE. tour,tor,tur, F. tour, L. turris; akin to Gr. ?; cf. W. twr a tower, Ir. tor a castle, Gael. torr a tower, castle. Cf. {Tor}, {Turret}.] 1. (Arch.) (a) A mass of building standing alone and insulated, usually higher than its… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Tower — (englisch Turm) bezeichnet: Tower (Luftfahrt), den Kontrollturm eines Flugplatzes Tower of London, Festung in London in der IT eine Ausführung von Computergehäusen Tower (Spiel), Gesellschaftsspiel von Piet Hein Tower ist der Familienname von… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Tower 42 — Der Tower 42 ist ein Hochhaus in London. Es ist mit 183 Metern das höchste in der Innenstadt Londons und das vierthöchste der gesamten Stadt. Überragt wird es nur von drei Hochhäusern im Gebiet Canary Wharf in den Docklands. Geschichte Das… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Tower 42 — Localisation Localisation Londres Coordonnées …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Tower-PC —   [dt. »Turm PC«, »Hochhaus PC«], ein PC mit hohem schmalem Gehäuse, dessen Form an ein Hochhaus erinnert. Er wird aufrecht stehend i. d. R. unter dem Tisch aufgestellt. Der hauptsächliche Unterschied zu einem PC mit Desktop Gehäuse besteht… …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Tower — (engl., spr. tauer), die Gesamtbezeichnung für einen ausgedehnten Komplex von Türmen, Festungswerken, kirchlichen und profanen Gebäuden in der Altstadt Londons, dessen Geschichte mit derjenigen der englischen Krone selbst für lange Jahrhunderte… …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • tower — tower1 [tou′ər] n. [ME tour, tur < OE torr & OFr tur, both < L turris, a tower; akin to Gr tyrsis, fortified city] 1. a building or structure that is relatively high for its length and width, either standing alone or forming part of another …   English World dictionary

  • Tower — (Пачиано,Италия) Категория отеля: 4 звездочный отель Адрес: 06060 Пачиано, Италия …   Каталог отелей

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  • Tower — Tower, MN U.S. city in Minnesota Population (2000): 479 Housing Units (2000): 295 Land area (2000): 2.708809 sq. miles (7.015783 sq. km) Water area (2000): 0.402133 sq. miles (1.041520 sq. km) Total area (2000): 3.110942 sq. miles (8.057303 sq.… …   StarDict's U.S. Gazetteer Places

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