n. A figure of a man used as a pillar for support.
The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
n. In architecture, the figure of a man performing the function of a column or pilaster to support an entablature, in the same manner as a caryatid. They were called atlantes by the Greeks. See atlantes.
WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
n. a figure of a man used as a supporting column
Word Usage
"Ages, or among the Iroquois and Algonquins, make men dispense with corslets, even when the shield was worn, as in Homer, slung round the neck by a _telamon_ (_guige_ in Old French), belt, or baldric."