in heraldry, an ordinary in form of a wedge, contracting from the chief, and terminating in a point towards the bottom of the shield.

among the Greeks and Romans, was a pyramid built of wood, whereon were laid the bodies of the deceased to be burnt. It was partly in the form of an altar, and differed in height according to the quality of the person to be consumed. Probably it might originally be considered as an altar, on which the dead were consumed as a burnt-offering to the infernal deities. The trees made use of in the erection of a funeral pile were such as abounded in pitch or rosin, as being most combustible; if they used any other wood, it was split that it might the more easily catch fire. Round the pile were placed cypress boughs to hinder the noisome smell. See Funeral.

in building, is used for a large stake rammed into the ground in the bottom of rivers, or in marshy land, for a foundation to build upon.

PILE is also used among architects for a mass of building.

in coinage, denotes a kind of puncheon, which, in the old way of coining with the hammer, contained the arms or other figure and inscription to be struck on the coin. See Coinage.

Accordingly we still call the arms side of a piece of money the pile, and the head the crofs; because in ancient coin, a crofs usually took the place of the head in ours.