buttress

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: C1 — Advanced

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun a support usually of stone or brick; supports the wall of a building
  2. verb reinforce with a buttress
  3. verb make stronger or defensible

Etymology

From Old French ars bouterez (noun, literally “supporting arcs”), from bouterez (adjective), oblique plural of bouteret (rare in the singular), from Frankish *bôtan, from Proto-Germanic *bautaną (“to push”). Ultimately cognate with beat.

In classic literature

Synonyms

buttressing

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