stilt

 
Pronunciation: /stɪlt/

noun

  • 1 (usually stilts) either of a pair of upright poles with supports for the feet enabling the user to walk at a distance above the ground.
  • each of a set of posts or piles supporting a building.
  • a small, flat, three-pointed support for ceramic ware in a kiln.
  • 2a long-billed wading bird with predominantly black and white plumage and very long slender reddish legs.
    • Family Recurvirostridae: two genera, in particular Himantopus, and several species

Origin:

Middle English: of Germanic origin; related to Dutch stelt and German Stelze. stilt (sense 2) dates from the late 18th century