Butment \But"ment\, n. [Abbreviation of Abutment.]

1. (Arch.) A buttress of an arch; the supporter, or that part which joins it to the upright pier.

2. (Masonry) 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.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)