Merriam-Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary, 11th Edition
TRUSS
I. transitive verb see: torsade
Date: 13th century
1. to secure tightly ; bind , to arrange for cooking by binding close the wings or legs of (a fowl), to support, strengthen, or stiffen by or as if by a truss, trusser noun
II. noun
Date: 13th century
an iron band around a lower mast with an attachment by which a yard is secured to the mast,
2. bracket 1, an assemblage of members (as beams) forming a rigid framework, a device worn to reduce a hernia by pressure, a compact flower or fruit cluster