Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
The Collaborative International Dictionary
arc-boutant \arc`-bou`tant"\ ([aum]r`b[ooma]`t[aum]N), n. [F.]
(Arch.)
A buttress that stands apart from the main structure and
connected to it by an arch; same as flying buttress.
--Gwilt.
Syn: flying buttress
Wiktionary
n. (context architecture English) a buttress that stands apart from the structure that it supports, and is connected to it by an arch (flyer).
WordNet
n. a buttress that stands apart from the main structure and connected to it by an arch [syn: arc-boutant]
Wikipedia
The flying buttress (arc-boutant, arch buttress) is a specific form of buttress composed of an arched structure that extends from the upper portion of a wall to a pier of great mass, in order to convey to the ground the lateral forces that push a wall outwards, which are forces that arise from vaulted ceilings of stone and from wind-loading on roofs.
The defining, functional characteristic of a flying buttress is that it is not in contact with the wall it supports, like a traditional buttress, and so transmits the lateral forces across the span of intervening space between the wall and the pier. To provide lateral support, flying-buttress systems are composed of two parts: (i) a massive pier, a vertical block of masonry situated away from the building wall, and (ii) an arch that bridges the span between the pier and the wall — either a segmental arch or a quadrant arch — the flyer of the flying buttress.
Usage examples of "flying buttress".
Before them was a large courtyard and at the opposite corner was a three-storied building attached to the main bulk of the castle by a flying buttress.
He made a motion and the hologram now showed a flying buttress and, in comparison to it, a normal buttress.
Suddenly a razor-sharp flying buttress passes less than a meter beneath the hurtling carpet, immediately I fly under another barbed metal strut, and I realize that I have almost just collided with the Shrike Palace.
He did not bore his readers with the technicalities of the Five Orders, the post and lintel, the flying buttress or reinforced concrete.