buttress

[buh-tris] /ˈbʌ trɪs/

noun

any external prop or support built to steady a structure by opposing its outward thrusts, especially a projecting support built into or against the outside of a masonry wall.

any prop or support.

a thing shaped like a buttress, as a tree trunk with a widening base.

a bony or horny protuberance, especially on a horse's hoof.

verb (used with object)

to support by a buttress; prop up.

to give encouragement or support to (a person, plan, etc.).

Origin

1350-1400; Middle English butres ≪ Old French (arc) boterez thrusting (arch) nominative singular of boteret (accusative), equivalent to boter- abutment (perhaps < Germanic; see butt³) + -et -et

Related forms

buttressless, adjective

buttresslike, adjective

nonbuttressed, adjective

unbuttressed, adjective

Synonyms

6. encourage, hearten, support, inspirit, brace, back up, reinforce, shore up.

Examples from the web for buttress

And the whole panoply of addiction research has led to insights that buttress a profusion of therapies.
They buttress each other and serve to reinforce each other.
It could doubtless do more to buttress the new government, but all this is the work of years.
To buttress his defense, he produced several testimonials-the written equivalent of character witnesses.
Fidelity may be a buttress of marriage, but it is sometimes a burden on film adaptations.
Two further findings buttress the idea that it is the psychological load of decision making which matters.
Nor did it buttress its geopolitical interests with tanks.
As my crew filled sandbags to buttress our excavations, their shovels uncovered an opening in the rock.
But too often here the orchestra chords that buttress the vocal lines were listless.
They buttress their cause by letting no government efforts to reach the poor in those regions.

British Dictionary definitions for buttress

buttress

/ˈbʌtrɪs/

noun

Also called pier. a construction, usually of brick or stone, built to support a wall See also flying buttress

any support or prop

something shaped like a buttress, such as a projection from a mountainside

either of the two pointed rear parts of a horse's hoof

verb (transitive)

to support (a wall) with a buttress

to support or sustain

Word Origin

C13: from Old French bouterez, short for ars bouterez thrusting arch, from bouter to thrust, butt³

Word Origin and History for buttress

early 14c., from Old French (arc) botrez "flying buttress," apparently from bouter "to thrust against," of Frankish origin (cf. Old Norse bauta "to strike, beat"), from Proto-Germanic *butan, from PIE root *bhau- "to strike" (see butt (v.)).

late 14c., literal and figurative, from buttress (n.). Related: Buttressed; buttressing.