‖ arc-boutant Arch.
(ˌarbuˈtɑ̃)
[Fr.]
An arched or ‘flying’ buttress, ‘whose object is to counteract the thrust of the main vault of the edifice’ (Gwilt).
| 1731 in Bailey. 1767 Ducarel Anglo-Norm. Antiq. 27 The walls of this Church are cased on the outside by thirty-two arc-boutants or buttresses. 1823 Rutter Fonthill 9 The ceiling is divided..by a broad arc-boutant in the middle. |