E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Bressommer,
or Brest - summer. (French, sommier, a lintel or bressummer.) A beam supporting the whole weight of the building above it; as, the beam over a shop-front, the beam extending over an opening through a wall when a communication between two contiguous rooms is required. Sometimes these beams support a large superstructure. (The word bress, brest, or breast, in carpentry, means a rafter, and the German brett = a plank.)
