buttress : Idioms & Phrases


Flying buttress

  • noun a buttress that stands apart from the main structure and connected to it by an arch
    arc-boutant.
WordNet
  • (Arch.), a contrivance for taking up the thrust of a roof or vault which can not be supported by ordinary buttresses. It consists of a straight bar of masonry, usually sloping, carried on an arch, and a solid pier or buttress sufficient to receive the thrust. The word is generally applied only to the straight bar with supporting arch.
  • . See Flying buttress.
Webster 1913