butmentn.
/ˈbʌtm(ə)nt/, U.S. /ˈbətm(ə)nt/ 1. Architecture. A structure, esp. of stone or brick, which supports the lateral thrust of an arch, a bridge, etc.; = abutment n. 4. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > architecture > arch > [noun] > parts of > section of pier or wall acting as support
butment1624
abutment1734
1624 H. Wotton Elements Archit. 49 The Supporters or Butments (as they are tearmed) of the sayd Arch.
1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory i. iii. 23/2 The Butment, or Foundation, to which the Springalls of the four Arches are fixed.
1703 R. Neve City & Countrey Purchaser 10 The Supporters, or Butments of this Arch.
1773 Gentleman's Mag. 43 164 One of the main pillars or arch butments seems to tremble at the sound of a certain bell.
a1809 T. Paine Yellow Fever in Polit. & Misc. Wks. (1819) II. 184 Arches joining each other lengthways, serve as butments to each other.
1897 Carpentry & Building Aug. 189/1 To complete this side of the house we have yet to deal with the circular bay and the brick piers, quoins and butments connected with it.
1911 Central Law Jrnl. 22 Dec. 446/2 The old bridge was removed, and the butment for such old bridge remained for some time in an unguarded condition.
1936 Sandusky (Ohio) Star-Jrnl. 21 Apr. 16/4 Piers and butments for the new bridge have been completed.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > [noun] > site of or for (a) building(s) > part of
butment1679
1679 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises I. ix. Explan. Terms 165 The peece of Ground in the yard..is a Butment from the rest of the Ground-Plot.
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. Also little places taken out of the Yard, or the Ground-plot of an House, for A Buttery, Scullery, &c. are sometimes called Butments.
1788 W. H. Hall New Royal Encycl. II. sig. F/1 The designation of such an estate is made by the tenants, butments, and boundings.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > structure of the earth > structural features > rock formations > [noun] > outstanding
clinta1400
ribc1595
butment1805
mullion1891
society > occupation and work > industry > building or constructing > building or constructing with stone > [noun] > stonework or masonry > mass of
solid1736
butment1805
massif1862
1805 M. Lewis Jrnl. 6 June in Jrnls. Lewis & Clark Exped. (1987) IV. 285 There is another butment of solid rock with a perpendicular face and abo[u]t 60 feet high.
1857 Chicago Mag. 1 70/2 As you look into the cave, rays of light are seen crossing it, admitted through a side arch which pierces the butment of the caverns.
1874 H. M. Stanley Coomassie & Magdala x. 440 Round a projecting butment of a hill we wound upward.
Compounds
butment cheek n. now rare the surface around a mortise, against which the shoulders of the tenon fit.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > building or constructing > building or providing with specific parts > specific parts built or constructed > [noun] > groove, channel, or cavity > sides of
butment cheek1756
1756 I. Ware Compl. Body Archit. ii. vii. facing Pl. 16 The tenons may be about an inch thick, made in the middle, which will admit of strong butment cheeks on each side.
1842 J. Gwilt Encycl. Archit. Gloss. 940 Butment Cheeks, the two solid sides of a mortise. The thickness of each cheek is usually equal to the thickness of the mortise.
1969 C. A. Hewett Devel. Carpentry 1200–1700 206/1 The soffit-tenon with diminished haunch, mortise with diminishing-sunken butment-cheek.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2018; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
<
n.1624