| flying buttress | |
| —n | |
| Also called: arc-boutant a buttress supporting a wall or other structure by an arch or part of an arch that transmits the thrust outwards and downwards | |
| a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal. |
| a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes. |
An external, arched support for the wall of a church or other building. Flying buttresses were used in many Gothic cathedrals; they enabled builders to put up very tall but comparatively thin stone walls, so that much of the wall space could be filled with stained-glass windows. The cathedrals of Chartres and Notre Dame de Paris were built with flying buttresses.