Title: A pillar of society - Idioms by The Free Dictionary
Headings: a pillar of society
a pillar of society
pillar of society
a pillar of society
a pillar of the community
a pillar of society
pillar of society, a
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Content: of, pillar, society
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012
a pillar of society
a person regarded as a particularly responsible citizen. The use of pillar to mean ‘a person regarded as a mainstay or support for something’ is recorded from medieval times; Pillars of Society was the English title of an 1888 play by the Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen . See also: of, pillar, society
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
pillar of society, a
A chief supporter of one’s community, social group, or other institution. The earliest example of being such a pillar dates from the early fourteenth century and involves a pillar of the church, which Eric Partridge deemed a particularly objectionable cliché by 1800 or so. Shakespeare used a slightly different locution in The Merchant of Venice; at the trial Shylock says, “I charge you by the law, whereof you are a well-deserving pillar,” presumably hoping that the judge will respond favorably to this compliment. From the late nineteenth century on, pillar of society was often used sarcastically or pejoratively, the target generally being both the individual and the society being upheld.