newel

newel
    n 1: the post at the top or bottom of a flight of stairs; it
         supports the handrail [syn: {newel post}, {newel}]
    2: the central pillar of a circular staircase
    

Newel \New"el\ (n[=u]"[e^]l), n. [From {New}. Cf. {Novel}.]
   A novelty; a new thing. [Obs.] --Spenser.
   [1913 Webster]
    

Newel \New"el\ (n[=u]"[e^]l), n. [OF. nual, F. noyau sone, of
   fruit, noyau d'escaler newel, fr. L. nucalis like a nut, fr.
   nux, nucis, nut. Cf. {Nowel} the inner wall of a mold,
   {Nucleus}.] (Arch.)
   The upright post about which the steps of a circular
   staircase wind; hence, in stairs having straight flights, the
   principal post at the foot of a staircase, or the secondary
   ones at the landings. Also called newel post. See {Hollow
   newel}, under {Hollow}.
   [1913 Webster]