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buttress

 - 3 dictionary results

but⋅tress

  [buh-tris]
Use buttress in a Sentence
–noun
1. any external prop or support built to steady a structure by opposing its outward thrusts, esp. a projecting support built into or against the outside of a masonry wall.
2. any prop or support.
3. a thing shaped like a buttress, as a tree trunk with a widening base.
4. a bony or horny protuberance, esp. on a horse's hoof.
–verb (used with object)
5. to support by a buttress; prop up.
6. to give encouragement or support to (a person, plan, etc.).
Origin:
1350–1400; ME butres ≪ OF (arc) boterez thrusting (arch) nom. sing. of boteret (acc.), equiv. to boter- abutment (perh. < Gmc; see butt 3 ) + -et -et

Related forms:
but⋅tress⋅less, adjective
but⋅tress⋅like, adjective

Synonyms:
6. encourage, hearten, support, inspirit, brace, back up, reinforce, shore up.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To buttress
but·tress   (bŭt'rĭs)   
n.  

  1. A structure, usually brick or stone, built against a wall for support or reinforcement.

  2. Something resembling a buttress, as:

    1. The flared base of certain tree trunks.

    2. A horny growth on the heel of a horse's hoof.

  3. Something that serves to support, prop, or reinforce: "The law is by its very nature a buttress of the status quo" (J. William Fulbright).

tr.v.   but·tressed, but·tress·ing, but·tress·es

  1. To support or reinforce with a buttress.

  2. To sustain, prop, or bolster: "The author buttresses her analysis with lengthy dissections of several of Moore's poems" (Warren Woessner).


[Middle English buteras, from Old French bouterez, from bouter, to strike against, of Germanic origin; see bhau- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

buttress 
c.1330, from O.Fr. boutrez pl. of bouter "to thrust against," of Frankish origin (cf. O.N. bauta "to strike, beat"), from P.Gmc. *butan, from PIE base *bhau- "to strike" (see batter (v.)).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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