buttress, buttressing
(noun) a support usually of stone or brick; supports the wall of a building
Source: WordNet® 3.1
buttressing
present participle of buttress
Source: Wiktionary
But"tress, n. Etym: [OE. butrasse, boterace, fr. F. bouter to push; cf. OF. bouteret (nom. sing. and acc. pl. bouterez) buttress. See Butt an end, and cf. Butteris.]
1. (Arch.)
Definition: A projecting mass of masonry, used for resisting the thrust of an arch, or for ornament and symmetry.
Note: When an external projection is used merely to stiffen a wall, it is a pier.
2. Anything which supports or strengthens. "The ground pillar and buttress of the good old cause of nonconformity." South. Flying buttress. See Flying buttress.
But"tress, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Buttressed (p. pr. & vb. n. Buttressing.]
Definition: To support with a buttress; to prop; to brace firmly. To set it upright again, and to prop and buttress it up for duration. Burke.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
14 March 2025
(noun) the relation between two different kinds of organisms in which one receives benefits from the other by causing damage to it (usually not fatal damage)
The first coffee-house in Mecca dates back to the 1510s. The beverage was in Turkey by the 1530s. It appeared in Europe circa 1515-1519 and was introduced to England by 1650. By 1675 the country had more than 3,000 coffee houses, and coffee had replaced beer as a breakfast drink.
