truss 
(trŭs)
(trŭs)n.
1. Medicine A supportive device, usually a pad with a belt, worn to prevent enlargement of a hernia or the return of a reduced hernia.
2.
a. A rigid framework, as of wooden beams or metal bars, designed to support a structure, such as a roof.
b. An architectural bracket.
3. Something gathered into a bundle; a pack.
4. Nautical An iron fitting by which a lower yard is secured to a mast.
5. Botany A compact cluster of flowers at the end of a stalk.
tr.v. trussed, truss·ing, truss·es
1. To tie up or bind tightly.
2. To bind or skewer the wings or legs of (a fowl) before cooking.
3. To support or brace with a truss.
[Middle English trusse, bundle, from Old French trousse, from torser, trousser, to truss, possibly from Vulgar Latin *torsāre, from *torsus, variant of Latin tortus, past participle of torquēre, to twist; see terkw- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]