Hypertext Webster Gateway: "buttress"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Buttress \But"tress\, n. [OE. butrasse, boterace, fr. F. bouter
to push; cf. OF. bouteret (nom. sing. and acc. pl. bouterez)
buttress. See {Butt} an end, and cf. {Butteris}.]
1. (Arch.) A projecting mass of masonry, used for resisting
the thrust of an arch, or for ornament and symmetry.
Note: When an external projection is used merely to stiffen a
wall, it is a pier.
2. Anything which supports or strengthens. ``The ground
pillar and buttress of the good old cause of
nonconformity.'' --South.
{Flying buttress}. See {Flying buttress}.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Buttress \But"tress\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Buttressed} (?); p.
pr. & vb. n. {Buttressing}.]
To support with a buttress; to prop; to brace firmly.
To set it upright again, and to prop and buttress it up
for duration. --Burke.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
buttress
n : a support usually of stone or brick; supports the wall of a
building [syn: {buttressing}]
v 1: reinforce with a buttress; "Buttress the church"
2: make stronger or defensible; buttress your thesis"
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