Cantilevers

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A support structure that extends horizontally from a vertical base, functioning to bear loads and resist bending
2. Structural elements that extend outwards from a fixed point, acting to support weight and create open spaces beneath
3. A beam or structure that stretches out from a fixed support and holds weight without additional support at its free end

Etymology: "Cantilevers" is the plural of "cantilever", and the noun's origins are murky. Its earliest recorded form, around 1610, was "cantlapper", and the word first appears in its modern spelling in the 1660s. The most likely explanation is that it combines "cant", meaning a slope, edge or corner, with "lever", a bar used to lift or pry. A less probable theory links the first element to the Spanish "can", meaning "dog", which architects applied to the projecting end of timber jutting out from a wall to support beams. The sense of the word is what makes the story worth telling: a cantilever is a beam anchored at only one end, with the other end projecting into open space. Its plural form, used for many such supports, describes the bridges, balconies and roof overhangs that depend on this principle.