stilt

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. Either of a pair of long, slender poles each equipped with a raised footrest to enable the user to walk elevated above the ground.
2. n. Any of various tall posts or pillars used as support, as for a dock or building: a beach house on stilts.
3. n. An American wading bird (Himantopus mexicanus) that has long pink legs, black and white plumage, and a long slender bill, and that ranges from the United States to Peru and Brazil and is related to the avocet.
4. n. A related bird (Cladorhynchus leucocephalus) of Australia.
5. v. To place or raise on stilts.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. A prop used in walking; a crutch.
2. n. One of two props or poles, each having a step or stirrup at some distance from the lower end, by means of which one may walk with the feet raised from the ground, and with a longer stride: used for crossing sandy or marshy places, streams, etc., and by children for amusement. Stilts were sometimes merely props fastened under the feet, as if very high-heeled shoes. Those used by children are slender poles about 6 feet long, with steps or stirrups 12 inches or more from one end; the longer end of the pole can be held by the hand or passed behind the arm. In a modified form the upper end of the pole is much shorter, and is fitted with a cross-handle which can be grasped by the hand, or is strapped to the leg below the knee. Stilts are used by the shepherds of the marshy Landes in southwestern France.
3. n. In hydraulic engineering, one of a set of piles forming the back for the sheet-piling of a starling.
4. n. The handle of a plow.
5. n. In ceramics, a support, generally of iron, used to hold a piece of pottery in the kiln, to allow the fire free access to the bottom of the piece. Also called cockspur and spur (which see).
6. n. [Abbr. of stilt-bird.] In ornithology, any bird of the genus Himantopus: so called from the extremely long, slender legs. The bill is likewise very slender, straight, and sharp. The body is slender, the neck long, the wings are long and pointed, and the tail is short. The stilts are wading-birds living in marshes. They are white below, with most of the upper parts glossy-black, the bill is black, and the legs are of some bright tint. They are very generally distributed over the world, nest on the ground, and lay four dark-colored, heavily spotted eggs. Their food consists of small soft animals found in the mud and water, which they explore with their probe-like bills. The common stilt of the Old World is H. candidus or melanopterus; that of the United States is H. mexicanus, a rare bird in the eastern regions of the country, but abundant in some parts of the west. It is about 15 inches long, and 30 in extent of wings; the bill 2⅔ inches; the legs, from the feathers to the toes, 7½ inches. There are only three toes, which are semipalmated. This species is locally called longshanks and lawyer. The South American stilt is H. nigricollis; the Australian, H. leucocephalus. A related bird of Australia to which the name extends is Cladorhynchus pectoralis, having the toes webbed like those of the avoset.
7. To raise above the ordinary or normal position or surface, as if by the use of stilts.

Wiktionary

1. n. Either of two poles with footrests that allow someone to stand or walk above the ground; used mostly by entertainers.
2. n. A tall pillar or post used to support some structure; often above water.
3. n. Any of various wading birds of the genera Himantopus and Cladorhynchus, related to the avocet, that have extremely long legs and long thin bills.
4. v. to raise on stilts, or as if on stilts

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. A pole, or piece of wood, constructed with a step or loop to raise the foot above the ground in walking. It is sometimes lashed to the leg, and sometimes prolonged upward so as to be steadied by the hand or arm.
2. n. Prov. Eng. A crutch; also, the handle of a plow.
3. n. (Zoöl.) Any species of limicoline birds belonging to Himantopus and allied genera, in which the legs are remarkably long and slender. Called also longshanks, stiltbird, stilt plover, and lawyer.
4. v. To raise on stilts, or as if on stilts.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. a column of wood or steel or concrete that is driven into the ground to provide support for a structure
2. n. one of two stout poles with foot rests in the middle; used for walking high above the ground
3. n. long-legged three-toed wading bird of brackish marshes of Australia
4. n. long-legged three-toed black-and-white wading bird of inland ponds and marshes or brackish lagoons