From WordNet (r) 2.0 (August 2003) [wn]:
pinnacle
n 1: (architecture) a slender upright spire at the top of a
buttress of tower
2: the highest level or degree attainable; "his landscapes were
deemed the acme of beauty"; "the artist's gifts are at
their acme"; "at the height of her career"; "the peak of
perfection"; "summer was at its peak"; "...catapulted
Einstein to the pinnacle of fame"; "the summit of his
ambition"; "so many highest superlatives achieved by man";
"at the top of his profession" [syn: acme, height,
elevation, peak, summit, superlative, top]
3: a lofty peak
v 1: surmount with a pinnacle; "pinnacle a pediment"
2: raise on or as if on a pinnacle; "He did not want to be
pinnacled"
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Pinnacle \Pin"na*cle\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Pinnacled; p. pr. &
vb. n. Pinnacling.]
To build or furnish with a pinnacle or pinnacles. --T.
Warton.
[1913 Webster]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Pinnacle \Pin"na*cle\, n. [OE. pinacle, F. pinacle, L.
pinnaculum, fr. pinna pinnacle, feather. See Pin a peg.]
1. (Arch.) An architectural member, upright, and generally
ending in a small spire, -- used to finish a buttress, to
constitute a part in a proportion, as where pinnacles
flank a gable or spire, and the like. Pinnacles may be
considered primarily as added weight, where it is
necessary to resist the thrust of an arch, etc.
[1913 Webster]
Some renowned metropolis
With glistering spires and pinnacles around.
--Milton.
[1913 Webster]
2. Anything resembling a pinnacle; a lofty peak; a pointed
summit.
[1913 Webster]
Three silent pinnacles of aged snow. --Tennyson.
[1913 Webster]
The slippery tops of human state,
The gilded pinnacles of fate. --Cowley.
[1913 Webster]