2. (Masonry)
Defn: 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.
BUTT; BUT Butt, But, n. Etym: [F. but butt, aim (cf. butte knoll), or bout, OF. bot, end, extremity, fr. boter, buter, to push, butt, strike, F. bouter; of German origin; cf. OHG. bozan, akin to E. beat. See Beat, v. t.]
1. A limit; a bound; a goal; the extreme bound; the end. Here is my journey's end, here my butt And very sea mark of my utmost sail. Shak.
Note: As applied to land, the word is nearly synonymous with mete, and signifies properly the end line or boundary; the abuttal.
2. The thicker end of anything. See But.
3. A mark to be shot at; a target. Sir W. Scott. The groom his fellow groom at butts defies, And bends his bow, and levels with his eyes. Dryden.
4. A person at whom ridicule, jest, or contempt is directed; as, the
butt of the company.
I played a sentence or two at my butt, which I thought very smart.
Addison.
5. A push, thrust, or sudden blow, given by the head of an animal; as, the butt of a ram.
6. A thrust in fencing. To prove who gave the fairer butt, John shows the chalk on Robert's coat. Prior.