頂住實體的東西
這一組就是核心畫面本身：真的有一塊石頭或混凝土靠在牆外。
noun · C1
A thick block of brick, stone, or concrete built against the outside of a wall to hold the wall up and stop it from leaning or falling outwards.
扶壁
核心畫面
Picture a tall stone wall that has begun to lean. Someone builds a thick block of stone against the outside of it, and the wall stops moving. That block is a buttress: not part of the wall, but a separate solid thing, placed where the push is, pressing back. Every use of the word keeps that shape — one thing standing beside another and taking its weight. When what is leaning is an argument instead of a wall, the evidence you add is doing the same job, in the same place.
可以想成一面高高的石牆開始往外傾。有人在牆外堆上一塊厚厚的石頭，牆就不動了。那塊石頭就是 buttress：它不是牆…更多收起
可以想成一面高高的石牆開始往外傾。有人在牆外堆上一塊厚厚的石頭，牆就不動了。那塊石頭就是 buttress：它不是牆的一部分，而是另外一塊實心的東西，擺在會被推倒的那一側，往回頂。這個字後來的每個用法，都還是同一個姿勢——一個東西站在旁邊，替另一個東西承重。當快倒的不是牆，而是一個論點的時候，你補上的證據做的其實是同一件事，站的也是同一個位置。From the word’s history
The word goes back to Old French ars bouterez, literally supporting arcs, from a root meaning to push; it is ultimately cognate with beat. So the pushing back is in the word from the start, not just the standing beside.
這個字可以追到古法文 ars bouterez，字面是「支撐用的拱」；bouterez 再往前接到一個意思是「推」的日耳曼字根，跟英文的 beat 同源。也就是說，這個字從一開始講的就是「抵住、往回推」的那股力量，不只是「放在旁邊」而已。
Wiktionary kaikki extract, source_ref kaikki:3f6f69a190036ae4:1249012406:27191 (Old French ars bouterez < bouteret < Frankish *bôtan < Proto-Germanic *bautaną, to push)
Two branches
撐住抽象的事物
論點和制度也會「倒」：被人一推就站不住。把證據或錢放在最容易被推倒的那一側，做的事跟頂住一面牆一模一樣，所以英文直接沿用同一個字。
verb · C1
To make an idea, argument, or system stronger and harder to knock down by adding something that holds it up, such as evidence, figures, or money.
支撐、強化