Buttress
/ˈbʌtrəs/noun
A projecting support built against a wall to strengthen it.
Did you know?Buttress comes through Old French from a form meaning a support or prop, and it shares a deep root with words for striking and pushing—language shaped by force, not softness.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*bhau-
“to strike, beat”
Late Latin
Latin
battuere
“to beat, strike”
Old French
Old French
boteraz / buter
“a support, prop; to thrust against”
Middle English
English
butresse
“a projecting support for a wall”
Modern English
English
buttress
“a structure built against another to strengthen or support it”