1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Truss

TRUSS (from O. Fr. trusser, trosser, torser, trouser, to pack, bind, gird up, Low Lat. torliare, formed from tortus, twisted, torquers, to twist; cf. “ torch ” and “ trousers, ” also trousseau, a bride’s outfit, literally a small pack or bundle), a pack or bundle, applied specifically to a quantity of hay or straw tied together in a bundle. A truss of straw contains 36 ℔, of old hay 56 ℔, of new hay 60 ℔. A load contains 36 trusses. The term is also used generally of a supporting frame or structure, especially in the construction of a roof or a bridge. It is thus used as the name of a surgical appliance, a belt with an elastic spring keeping in place a pad used as a support in cases of hernia (q.v.).