different between gusset vs stiffener

English

Alternative forms

• gousset

Etymology

From Middle English gusset, gysset, from Old French gosset, gousset (“the hollow of the armpit”).

Pronunciation

• (General American, Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /???s?t/
• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /??as?t/
• Rhymes: -?s?t

Noun

gusset (plural gussets)

1. A small piece of cloth inserted in a garment, for the purpose of strengthening some part or giving it a tapering enlargement cf. godet.
2. A small piece of mail, providing some protection where two plates of armor are joined, usually at the elbows, under the shoulders, and behind the knees.
3. (machinery) A kind of bracket, or angular piece of iron, fastened in the angles of a structure to give strength or stiffness; especially, the part joining the barrel and the fire box of a locomotive boiler.
4. (heraldry) An abatement or mark of dishonor in a coat of arms, resembling a gusset.
5. (roofing) A large flat metal piece wider than the valley to help prevent build-up at the base of the valley, either from debris or ice dam formations.

Translations

Derived terms

• gusset plate

Verb

gusset (third-person singular simple present gussets, present participle gusseting, simple past and past participle gusseted)

1. (transitive) To make with a gusset; to sew a gusset into.

Further reading

• Wikipedia article on armor.

Anagrams

• guests

English

Etymology

stiffen +? -er

Noun

stiffener (plural stiffeners)

1. Anything added to something in order to stiffen it, such as a support beam, or starch for a collar.
   • 1856: Charles Dickens, Sketches by Boz: Illustrative of Every-day Life & Every-day People [1]

     […] he wears a wisp of black silk round his neck, without any stiffener, as an apology for a neckerchief […]

   • 1901: James Nisbit Hazlehurst, Towers and Tanks for Water-works: The Theory and Practice of Their Design and Construction [2]

     […] each of these stiffener-columns must be designed to resist approximately 26 tons. Sometimes single angles are thus used as stiffeners […]

   • 1904: Edward L. Attwood, War-ships: A Text-book on the Construction, Protection, Stability, Turning, Etc., of War Vessels [3]

     The tee bar (b) is used as a stiffener to important bulkheads […]

2. (slang) An alcoholic drink taken to fortify oneself.
   • 2017, William Meikle, Sigils and Totems

     I believe the old man has taken himself off to the nearest bar for a stiffener.

Translations