tower

1. A building or part of a building that is exceptionally high in proportion to its width and length.
2. A tall, slender structure used for observation, signaling, or pumping.
3. One that conspicuously embodies strength, firmness, or another virtue.
4. Computer Science. A computer system whose components are arranged in a vertical stack and housed in a tall, narrow cabinet.

1. To appear at or rise to a conspicuous height; loom: “There he stood, grown suddenly tall, towering above them” (J.R.R. Tolkien). See synonyms at rise.
2. To fly directly upward before swooping or falling. Used of certain birds.
3. To demonstrate great superiority; be preeminent: towers over other poets of the day.

[Middle English tur, tour, towr, from Old English torr and from Old French tur, both from Latin turris, probably from Greek tursis, turris.]

A concrete, metal, or timber structure that is relatively high for its length and width. Towers are constructed for many purposes, including the support of electric power transmission lines, radio and television antennas, and rockets and missiles prior to launching.

Transmission towers are rectangular in plan and are not steadied by guy wires. A transmission tower is subjected to a number of forces; its own weight, the pull of the cables at the top of the tower, the effect of wind and ice on the cable, and the effect of wind on the tower itself.

Radio and television towers are either guyed or freestanding. Freestanding towers are usually rectangular in plan. In addition to their own weight, freestanding towers support the weight of the antenna and accessories and the weight of ice, unless a deicing circuit is installed. Wind forces must also be carefully considered. Guyed towers are usually triangular in plan, with the main structural members, or legs, at the vertexes of the triangle. The legs are usually solid round steel bars. See also Antenna (electromagnetism); Transmission lines.

(1) A vertical computer cabinet. Large towers typically stand on the floor, but smaller units often reside on the desktop. In the past, numerous personal computers came in cases that were horizontal and designed only for the top of the desk. Today, most computers come in tower cases or are all-in-ones or portables (see all-in-one and laptop).

(2) A self-standing, vertical post that is designed to hold one or more antennas. Very often, the term refers to both the tower and antennas; for example, a cellular tower.

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Idioms beginning with tower:
tower of strength

In addition to the idiom beginning with tower, also see ivory tower

For more information on tower, visit Britannica.com.

A structure or building characterized by its relatively great height as compared with its horizontal dimensions; also see shot tower and torreón.

A tower may be a symbol of vigilance (a watchtower) or a symbol of punishment and imprisonment (a guard tower). Scholarship and abstract ideas that seem to be isolated from everyday life are sometimes said to be the purview of someone who lives in an "ivory tower." Similarly, the invitation to "come down from your tower" (ivory or otherwise) is an invitation to rejoin life. As in the fairy tale Rapunsel, perhaps the dreamer should "let her hair down" and become more accessible to others.

For other uses, see Tower (disambiguation).

CN Tower (World's second tallest freestanding structure) in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

The Sears Tower, in Chicago, Illinois, United States.

The Eiffel Tower in Paris, France.

Milad Tower in Tehran, Iran is the tallest concrete tower in Middle East.

The TV Tower in Prague, Czech Republic.

El Faro towers in Buenos Aires, Argentina, one of the tallest constructions in the city.

The Hyperboloid lattice shell of Shukhov Tower in Moscow, Russia.

Towers are tall human-made structures that are almost always taller than they are wide, usually by a significant margin. Towers are generally built to take advantage of their height, and can stand alone or as part of a larger structure.

Contents 1 History 2 Etymology 3 Functions of towers 3.1 Skyscrapers 3.2 Strategic advantages 3.3 Potential energy 3.4 Communication enhancement 3.5 Transportation support 3.6 Other towers 4 See also 5 Notes

History

Towers have been used by mankind since prehistoric times. The oldest known may be the circular stone tower in walls of Neolithic Jericho (8000 BC). Some of the earliest surviving examples are the broch structures in northern Scotland, which are conical towerhouses. These and later examples from Phoenician and Roman cultures emphasised the use of a tower in fortification and sentinel roles. For example, watchtower elements are found at Mogador from the first millennium BC, derived from Phoenician or Carthaginian origins. The Romans utilised octagonal towers^[1] as elements of Diocletian's Palace in Croatia, which monument dates to approximately 300 AD, while the Servian Walls (4th century BC) and the Aurelian Walls (3rd century AD) featured square ones. The Chinese used towers as integrated elements of the Great Wall of China in 210 BC during the Qin Dynasty.

A noted incomplete tower is the Hassan Tower in Morocco, where work was abandoned in 1199 AD, and the tower stands today as a monument in its incomplete state.^[2] Another well known tower is the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Pisa, Italy built from 1173 until 1372. The Himalayan Towers are stone towers located chiefly in Tibet built approximately 14th to 15th century. ^[3]

Etymology

Old English torr is from Latin turris via Old French tor. The Latin term together with Greek τύρσις was loaned from a pre-Indo-European Mediterranean language, connected with the Illyrian toponym Βου-δοργίς. With the Lydian toponyms Τύρρα, Τύρσα, it has been connected with the ethnonym Τυρρήνιοι as well as with Tusci (from *Turs-ci), the Greek and Latin names for the Etruscans (Kretschmer Glotta 22, 110ff.)

Functions of towers

Skyscrapers

A modern type of tower, the skyscraper, uses less ground space as a ratio of total building interior square footage. Skyscrapers are often not classified as towers, although most have the same design and structure of towers. In the United Kingdom, tall domestic buildings are referred to as tower blocks. In the United States, the World Trade Center had the nickname the Twin Towers, a name shared with the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur.

Strategic advantages

The tower throughout history has provided its users with an advantage in surveying defensive positions and obtaining a better view of the surrounding areas, including battlefields. They were installed on defensive walls or rolled near a target, see siege tower. Presently, strategic-use towers can be found at prisons or military camps.

Potential energy

By using gravity to move objects or substances downward, a tower can be used to store items or liquids like a storage silo or a water tower, or aim an object into the earth such as a drilling tower. Ski-jump ramps use the same idea, and in the absence of a natural mountain slope or hill, can be human-made.

Communication enhancement

In history, simple towers like lighthouses, bell towers, clock towers, signal towers and minarets were used to communicate information over greater distances. In more recent years, radio masts and cell phone towers facilitate communication by expanding the range of the transmitter. The CN Tower in Toronto, Canada was built as a communications tower, with the capability to act as both a transmitter and repeater. Its design also incorporated features to make it a tourist attraction, including the world's highest observation deck at 147 stories.^{[citation needed]}

Transportation support

Towers can also be used to support bridges, and can reach heights that rival some of the tallest buildings above-water. Their use is most prevalent in suspension bridges and cable-stayed bridges. The use of the pylon, a simple tower structure, has also helped to build railroad bridges, mass-transit systems, and harbors.

Other towers

• To access tall or high objects: launch tower, service tower, supply tower, scaffold, tower wagon
• To access atmospheric conditions aloft: wind turbine, meteorological measurement tower, tower telescope, solar power station
• To take advantage of the temperature gradient inherent in a height differential: cooling tower, chimney
• To protect from exposure: BREN Tower
• For industrial production: shot tower
• For surveying: Survey tower
• To drop objects: drop tower, bomb tower, diving platform
• To test height-intensive applications: elevator test tower
• To improve structural integrity: thyristor tower
• To mimic towers or provide height for training purposes: fire tower, parachute tower
• As art: Shukhov Tower
• For recreation: rock climbing tower
• As a symbol: Tower of Babel, The Tower (Tarot card), church tower

The term "tower" is also sometimes used to refer to firefighting equipment with an extremely tall ladder designed for use in firefighting/rescue operations involving high-rise buildings.

See also

• Additionally guyed tower
• Bell tower
• Campanile
• Federal Communications Commission re FCC Broadcasting Tower Database (USA)
• Inclined towers
• List of towers
• Partially guyed tower
• Turret
• Watchtower
• World Federation of Great Towers
• World's tallest structures

Notes

1. ^ C.Michael Hogan, "Diocletian's Palace", The Megalithic Portal, A. Burnham ed, Oct 6, 2007
2. ^ Justin McGuinness, Morocco Handbook, 2003, Footprint Travel Guides: Morocco, 560 pages ISBN 190347163X
3. ^ http://msnbc.msn.com/id/3474951 Dana Thomas, Towers to the Heavens, Newsweek, 2003-11-15

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - tårn
v. intr. - hæve sig højt

idioms:

• tower above    knejse
• tower block    højhus, punkthus
• Tower of Babel    Babelstårnet
• tower of strength    en fast borg
• tower over    hæve sig over, være højt hævet over

Nederlands (Dutch)
toren, uittorenen (boven)

Français (French)
n. - tour
v. intr. - dominer

idioms:

• tower above    dominer (un rival)
• tower block    (GB) tour d'habitation
• Tower of Babel    Tour de Babel
• tower of strength    (être) d'un grand soutien
• tower over    être plus grand que, dominer de toute sa hauteur

Deutsch (German)
n. - Turm, Kontrollturm, Festung, Bollwerk
v. - aufragen, überragen, hochfliegen

idioms:

• tower above    emporragen Über
• tower block    Hochhaus
• Tower of Babel    Turm von Babel
• tower of strength    fester Rückhalt
• tower over    Überragen

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - πύργος
v. - ορθώνομαι, υψώνομαι, δεσπόζω, ανέρχομαι σε μεγάλο ύψος

idioms:

• tower above    δεσπόζω, υψώνομαι πάνω από
• tower block    πολυώροφο κτίριο γραφείων ή κατοικιών (κν. πύργος)
• Tower of Babel    Πύργος της Βαβέλ
• tower of strength    βράχος ακλόνητος
• tower over    δεσπόζω ή υψώνομαι πάνω από

Italiano (Italian)
torre, torreggiare

idioms:

• tower block    grattacielo
• Tower of Babel    torre di Babele
• tower of strength    sostegno

Português (Portuguese)
n. - defesa (f), torre (f), fortaleza (f), refúgio (m)
v. - destacar-se, elevar-se, dominar

idioms:

• tower above/over    superar em habilidade ou em intelecto
• tower block    defesa (f)
• Tower of Babel    torre de babel (f)
• tower of strength    apoio, defesa

Русский (Russian)
башня, вышка, крепость, цитадель, выситься, возвышаться над чем-л.

idioms:

• tower above/over    быть выше других, превосходить
• tower block    громоздкое здание
• Tower of Babel    Вавилонская башня, (фиг.) смешение понятий, неразбериха
• tower of strength    оплот

Español (Spanish)
n. - torre, campanario, fortaleza, bastida
v. intr. - elevarse, encumbrarse, descollar, sobresalir

idioms:

• tower above    dominar, destacarse sobre
• tower block    torre, edificio de departamentos u oficinas
• Tower of Babel    Torre de Babel
• tower of strength    ayuda muy valiosa
• tower over    dominar, destacarse sobre

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - torn, borg, kraftkälla
v. - torna upp sig, resa sig

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
塔, 堡垒, 高楼, 高耸, 屹立, 超过, 胜过, 高高升起, 高飞, 翱翔

idioms:

• tower above    高出, 胜过
• tower block    高层建筑, 摩天大楼
• Tower of Babel    巴别通天塔, 空想计划
• tower of strength    可信赖的人, 可依靠的人, 支柱
• tower over    远高于..., 高出, 超过, 胜过

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 塔, 堡壘, 高樓
v. intr. - 高聳, 屹立, 超過, 勝過, 高高升起, 高飛, 翱翔

idioms:

• tower above    高出, 勝過
• tower block    高層建築, 摩天大樓
• Tower of Babel    巴別通天塔, 空想計劃
• tower of strength    可信賴的人, 可依靠的人, 支柱
• tower over    遠高於..., 高出, 超過, 勝過

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 탑, 철도 신호소, 고층 빌딩
v. intr. - 솟다, 뛰어나다

idioms:

• tower above    ~보다 훨씬 높다, 눈에 띄다, 뛰어나다
• tower over    뛰어나다

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 塔, タワー, とりで, やぐら
v. - 高くそびえる, 抜きん出ている, そびえる

idioms:

• tower above/over    高くそびえる, 抜きんでる
• tower block    高層ビル
• Tower of Babel    バベルの塔, 非現実的な計画
• tower of strength    頼みとなる人物

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) قلعه, برج (فعل) يتفوق, يحلق, يرتفع‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮מגדל, מצודה, צריח‬
v. intr. - ‮התנשא, התרומם‬

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