'Flying buttress' definitions:
Definition of 'flying buttress'
(from WordNet)
noun
A buttress that stands apart from the main structure and connected to it by an arch [syn: flying buttress, arc- boutant]
Definition of 'Flying buttress'
From: GCIDE
- Buttress \But"tress\, n. [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.) A projecting mass of masonry, used for resisting the thrust of an arch, or for ornament and symmetry. [1913 Webster]
- Note: When an external projection is used merely to stiffen a wall, it is a pier. [1913 Webster]
- 2. Anything which supports or strengthens. "The ground pillar and buttress of the good old cause of nonconformity." --South. [1913 Webster]
- Flying buttress. See Flying buttress. [1913 Webster]