Emily Dickinson Lexicon

PYR'A-MID, n. [Fr. pyramide; It. piramide; L. pyramis; Gr. πυραμις. The origin and composition of this word are not ascertained. It is supposed that the Gr. πυρ, fire, forms one of its component parts; and it may be named from being shaped like flame. – Elmes.]

A solid body standing on a triangular, square or polygonal base, and terminating in a point at the top; or in geometry, a solid figure consisting of several triangles, whose bases are all in the same plane, and which have one common vertex. – Encyc. The pyramids of Egypt may have been erected to the sun, during the prevalence of Sabianism. A pyramid is formed by the meeting of three or more planes at a point termed the apex. – Philips.