newel

English Thesaurus

1. the central pillar of a circular staircase (noun.artifact)

hypernym	:	column, pillar,
definition	:	(architecture) a tall vertical cylindrical structure standing upright and used to support a structure (noun.artifact)

2. the post at the top or bottom of a flight of stairs; it supports the handrail (noun.artifact)

hypernym	:	post,
definition	:	an upright consisting of a piece of timber or metal fixed firmly in an upright position (noun.artifact)