buttress

[buh-tris]

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 of buttress

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 formsbut·tress·less, adjectivebut·tress·like, adjectivenon·but·tressed, adjectiveun·but·tressed, adjective

Synonyms for buttress

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for buttressed

strengthen, reinforce, uphold, mainstay, column, strut, stanchion, reinforcement, stay, underpinning, shore, prop, pier, abutment, bulwark, sustain, carry, brace

Examples from the Web for buttressed

Contemporary Examples of buttressed

Negotiations can be buttressed by dramatic acts of (American) pragmatism.
Understanding John Kerry's Logic
Bernard Avishai
July 22, 2013
And President Obama, buttressed by his newly discovered spine, has essentially said as much.
Fiscal Cliff Countdown, Day 30: Senate Meets Dada
Daniel Gross
December 6, 2012
Now comes The Endgame: its 691 pages of narrative are buttressed by 68 pages of source notes.
‘The Endgame’ Is A Well Researched, Highly Critical Look at U.S. Policy in Iraq
John Barry
September 25, 2012

Historical Examples of buttressed

She was thus bulwarked and buttressed for any assault that might be hurled her way.
Blue-grass and Broadway
Maria Thompson Daviess
To all appearance he was secure in his inheritance and buttressed against any peril.
Tristram of Blent
Anthony Hope
It was not strong enough, so they buttressed it over the mouldings.
Hugh, Bishop of Lincoln
Charles L. Marson
Parenthood on the part of the worthy must be buttressed, guided, and extolled.
Private Sex Advice to Women
R. B. Armitage
But Sir Axel and his assiduity enhanced her value and buttressed her independence.
Mrs. Maxon Protests
Anthony Hope

British Dictionary definitions for buttressed

buttress

noun

Also called: pier a construction, usually of brick or stone, built to support a wallSee 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 (tr)

to support (a wall) with a buttress
to support or sustain

Word Origin for buttress

C13: from Old French bouterez, short for ars bouterez thrusting arch, from bouter to thrust, butt ³

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for buttressed

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.)).

buttress

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