plural of buttress (structures built against walls for support), or the third-person singular form of the verb 'to buttress' (to strengthen or support).
From Old French "bouteret" meaning a support structure. The word became standardized in English during the medieval period when Gothic architecture heavily relied on buttresses for structural integrity.
Flying buttresses are architectural magic tricks—they're visible outside cathedrals like Notre-Dame, looking like stone arms that transfer roof weight down the walls. You can literally see engineering through art.
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