The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Pedestal \Ped"es*tal\, n. [Sp. pedestal; cf. F. pi['e]destal,
   It. piedestallo; fr. L. es, pedis, foot + OHG. stal standing
   place, station, place, akin to E. stall. See Foot, and
   Stall, and Footstall.]
   1. (Arch.) The base or foot of a column, statue, vase, lamp,
      or the like; the part on which an upright work stands. It
      consists of three parts, the base, the die or dado, and
      the cornice or surbase molding. See Illust. of Column.
      [1913 Webster]

            Build him a pedestal, and say, "Stand there!"
                                                  --Cowper.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. Hence: A short free-standing column or column-like object
      designed to support a work of art or other object; a
      column serving the same function as the base of a statue.
      It may be made of wood, marble, or other suitable
      material.
      [PJC]

   3. (Furniture) A part of a desk which contains a frame and
      drawers, stands on the floor, and provides support for the
      desk surface. There may be zero, one, or two such
      pedestals in a desk.
      [PJC]

   4.
      (a) (Railroad Cars) A casting secured to the frame of a
          truck and forming a jaw for holding a journal box.
      (b) (Mach.) A pillow block; a low housing.
      (c) (Bridge Building) An iron socket, or support, for the
          foot of a brace at the end of a truss where it rests
          on a pier.
          [1913 Webster]

   Pedestal coil (steam Heating), a group of connected
      straight pipes arranged side by side and one above
      another, -- used in a radiator.
      [1913 Webster]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

pedestal
    n 1: a support or foundation; "the base of the lamp" [syn:
         base, pedestal, stand]
    2: a position of great esteem (and supposed superiority); "they
       put him on a pedestal"
    3: an architectural support or base (as for a column or statue)
       [syn: pedestal, plinth, footstall]

Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

57 Moby Thesaurus words for "pedestal":
   aggrandize, apotheosize, baluster, balustrade, banister, base,
   caryatid, colonnade, column, dado, deify, die, dignify, elevate,
   ennoble, exalt, foot, footstalk, foundation, glorify, honor,
   idolize, jack, magnify, mounting, newel-post, pedicel, peduncle,
   pier, pilaster, pile, piling, pillar, platform, plinth, pole, post,
   queen-post, raise, revere, shaft, socle, staff, stalk, stanchion,
   stand, standard, stem, subbase, sublime, substructure, support,
   surbase, trunk, upright, uproar, worship