arc-boutant

noun

The verdict

“arc-boutant” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
11
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Pilier ou construction de maçonnerie qui finit en demi-arc et qui sert à soutenir par-dehors une voûte, un mur, etc.

Corpus desk

Index FR-arc-boutant · arc-boutant · French

arc-boutant · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "A" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for arc-boutant
PropertyValue
Headwordarc-boutant
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
Letters11
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « arc-boutant » en français

arc-boutantreste hors des 100.000 mots français les plus fréquents, dans la longue queue du vocabulaire technique, archaïque ou rare, là où le doute d'orthographe frappe.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

arc-boutant is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

arc-boutant has no tracked misspelling variants, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct French form is arc-boutant, spelled A-R-C---B-O-U-T-A-N-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    Pilier ou construction de maçonnerie qui finit en demi-arc et qui sert à soutenir par-dehors une voûte, un mur, etc.
  2. 2
    Pièce de soutien.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how arc-boutant appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. […] si l’essence du Roman est surtout la voûte substituée aux lambris des toits, l’origine et le caractère distinct du Gothique est l’arc-boutant et non l’ogive.
  2. Les murs ont une épaisseur prodigieuse ; six gros arcs-boutants extérieurs saillent du pourtour et montent contre les côtés de la tour comme pour la fortifier ou lui servir d’appui.

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "arc-boutant"?
"arc-boutant" is spelled A-R-C---B-O-U-T-A-N-T.
What does "arc-boutant" mean?
As a noun, "arc-boutant" means: Pilier ou construction de maçonnerie qui finit en demi-arc et qui sert à soutenir par-dehors une voûte, un mur, etc.
What language does "arc-boutant" come from?
"arc-boutant" is a French word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list