Abutment

Webster's Dictionary of the English Language

·noun State of abutting.

II. Abutment ·noun That on or against which a body abuts or presses.

III. Abutment ·noun In breech-loading firearms, the block behind the barrel which receives the pressure due to recoil.

IV. Abutment ·noun The solid part of a pier or wall, ·etc., which receives the thrust or lateral pressure of an arch, vault, or strut.

V. Abutment ·noun A fixed point or surface from which resistance or reaction is obtained, as the cylinder head of a steam engine, the fulcrum of a lever, ·etc.