a strengthening buttress at right angles to a retaining wall, bonded to it to prevent overturning or to increase its bending strength
Word origin
from a partial translation of French contrefort, from contre counter + fort strength; see fort
counterfort in American English
(ˈkauntərˌfɔrt, -ˌfourt)
noun
1.
a buttress, esp. one for strengthening a basement wall against the pressure of earth
2.
a cantilevered weight, as in a retaining wall, having the form of a pier built on the side of the material to be retained
Word origin
[1580–90; partial trans. of MF contrefort, equiv. to contrecounter- + fort strength (deriv. of fort (adj.) strong)]This word is first recorded in the period 1580–90. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: academic, bomb, classical, piggyback, referencecounter- is a combining form with the meanings “against,” “contrary,” “opposite,” “in oppositionor response to” (countermand); “complementary,” “in reciprocation,” “corresponding,” “parallel” (counterfoil; counterbalance); “substitute,” “duplicate” (counterfeit)