What is "butment cheek"

Butment \But"ment\, n. [Abbreviation of Abutment.]

1. (Arch.) A buttress of an arch; the supporter, or that part which joins it to the upright pier.

2. (Masonry) The mass of stone or solid work at the end of a bridge, by which the extreme arches are sustained, or by which the end of a bridge without arches is supported.

   Butment cheek (Carp.), the part of a mortised timber surrounding the mortise, and against which the shoulders of the tenon bear.
   --Knight.

Cheek \Cheek\ (ch[=e]k), n. [OE. cheke, cheoke, AS. ce[`a]ce, ce[`o]ce; cf. Goth. kukjan to kiss, D. kaak cheek; perh. akin to E. chew, jaw.]

1. The side of the face below the eye.

2. The cheek bone. [Obs.]
   --Caucer.

3. pl. (Mech.) Those pieces of a machine, or of any timber, or stone work, which form corresponding sides, or which are similar and in pair; as, the cheeks (jaws) of a vise; the cheeks of a gun carriage, etc.

4. pl. The branches of a bridle bit.
   --Knight.

5. (Founding) A section of a flask, so made that it can be moved laterally, to permit the removal of the pattern from the mold; the middle part of a flask.

6. Cool confidence; assurance; impudence. [Slang]

   Cheek of beef. See Illust. of Beef.

   Cheek bone (Anat.) the bone of the side of the face; esp., the malar bone.

   Cheek by jowl, side by side; very intimate.

   Cheek pouch (Zo["o]l.), a sacklike dilation of the cheeks of certain monkeys and rodents, used for holding food.

   Cheeks of a block, the two sides of the shell of a tackle block.

   Cheeks of a mast, the projection on each side of a mast, upon which the trestletrees rest.

   Cheek tooth (Anat.), a hinder or molar tooth.

   Butment cheek. See under Butment.

n. (context carpentry English) The part of a mortised timber surrounding the mortise, and against which the shoulders of the tenon bear.