Cantalever \Can"ta*lev`er\, n. [Cant an external angle + lever a
supporter of the roof timber of a house.]
[Written also
cantaliver and cantilever.]
1. (Arch.) A bracket to support a balcony, a cornice, or the
like.
2. (Engin.) A projecting beam, truss, or bridge unsupported
at the outer end; one which overhangs.
Cantalever bridge, a bridge in which the principle of the
cantalever is applied. It is usually a trussed bridge,
composed of two portions reaching out from opposite banks,
and supported near the middle of their own length on piers
which they overhang, thus forming cantalevers which meet
over the space to be spanned or sustain a third portion,
to complete the connection.
Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
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