Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Butt \Butt\, But \But\, n. [F. but butt, aim (cf. butte knoll),
   or bout, OF. bot, end, extremity, fr. boter, buter, to push,
   butt, strike, F. bouter; of German origin; cf. OHG. b[=o]zan,
   akin to E. beat. See {Beat}, v. t.]
   1. A limit; a bound; a goal; the extreme bound; the end.

            Here is my journey's end, here my butt And very sea
            mark of my utmost sail.               --Shak.

   Note: As applied to land, the word is nearly synonymous with
         mete, and signifies properly the end line or boundary;
         the abuttal.

   2. The thicker end of anything. See {But}.

   3. A mark to be shot at; a target. --Sir W. Scott.

            The groom his fellow groom at butts defies, And
            bends his bow, and levels with his eyes. --Dryden.

   4. A person at whom ridicule, jest, or contempt is directed;
      as, the butt of the company.

            I played a sentence or two at my butt, which I
            thought very smart.                   --Addison.

   5. A push, thrust, or sudden blow, given by the head of an
      animal; as, the butt of a ram.

   6. A thrust in fencing.

            To prove who gave the fairer butt, John shows the
            chalk on Robert's coat.               --Prior.

   7. A piece of land left unplowed at the end of a field.

            The hay was growing upon headlands and butts in
            cornfields.                           --Burrill.

   8. (Mech.)
      (a) A joint where the ends of two objects come squarely
          together without scarfing or chamfering; -- also
          called {butt joint}.
      (b) The end of a connecting rod or other like piece, to
          which the boxing is attached by the strap, cotter, and
          gib.
      (c) The portion of a half-coupling fastened to the end of
          a hose.

   9. (Shipbuilding) The joint where two planks in a strake
      meet.

   10. (Carp.) A kind of hinge used in hanging doors, etc.; --
       so named because fastened on the edge of the door, which
       butts against the casing, instead of on its face, like
       the strap hinge; also called {butt hinge}.

   11. (Leather Trade) The thickest and stoutest part of tanned
       oxhides, used for soles of boots, harness, trunks.

   12. The hut or shelter of the person who attends to the
       targets in rifle practice.

   {Butt chain} (Saddlery), a short chain attached to the end of
      a tug.

   {Butt end}. The thicker end of anything. See {But end}, under
      2d {But}.

            Amen; and make me die a good old man! That's the
            butt end of a mother's blessing.      --Shak.

   {A butt's length}, the ordinary distance from the place of
      shooting to the butt, or mark.

   {Butts and bounds} (Conveyancing), abuttals and boundaries.
      In lands of the ordinary rectangular shape, butts are the
      lines at the ends (F. bouts), and bounds are those on the
      sides, or sidings, as they were formerly termed.
      --Burrill.

   {Bead and butt}. See under {Bead}.

   {Butt and butt}, joining end to end without overlapping, as
      planks.

   {Butt weld} (Mech.), a butt joint, made by welding together
      the flat ends, or edges, of a piece of iron or steel, or
      of separate pieces, without having them overlap. See
      {Weld}.

   {Full butt}, headfirst with full force. [Colloq.] ``The
      corporal . . . ran full butt at the lieutenant.''
      --Marryat.