underˈpin, v.
[under-1 4 a + pin v. 3.]
1. trans. To support or strengthen (a building or other structure) from beneath, spec. by laying a solid foundation below the ground-level, or by substituting stronger or more solid for weaker or softer materials.
| 1533 MS. Rawl. D. 776 fol. 131 Vnder pynnyng the Grownde plattes of the said wharff. 1583–4 in Willis & Clark Cambridge (1886) III. 22 To Mr. Stokes..for stone, and vnderpynnyng the whalles of the schooles. c 1700 in Essex Rev. (1906) XV. 170, I underpinned the side of the dwelling house. 1776 G. Semple Building in Water 65 We under⁓pinned that West End of it, where we found that there was nothing supporting the upper Work, but the Bond of the Stones. 1833 Loudon Encycl. Archit. §234 All the window and door frames to be properly bedded..and the sills under⁓pinned. 1886 Willis & Clark Cambridge I. 24 A facing added to the decayed clunch by way of under-pinning it. |
b. fig. To support, corroborate.
| 1522 More De Quat. Noviss. Wks. 76/1 It is better to..thinke on some better thing the while, than to geue eare therto & vnder pinne the tale. a 1619 M. Fotherby Atheom. Pref. p. vi, I am called to vnder-pinne those foure maine Corner-stones. 1646 J. Saltmarsh Groanes for Liberty 9 Was it unlawfull..to underpin Episcopacy with some Texts of Scripture? 1866 De Morgan in Athenæum 2 Sept. 312/3 If so, away goes free will for good and all; unless, indeed, we underpin our system with the hypothesis [etc.]. 1884 American VIII. 294 These powers..might underpin the first lien on the property. |
2. To form a base or support to.
| 1878 R. B. Smith Carthage 148 Above the precipitous cliffs that underpinned the mountain was a broad plateau. |