étayer

== French == === Etymology === From étai +‎ -er. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /e.tɛ.je/ ~ /e.te.je/ === Verb === étayer (of physical objects) to prop up; to support Synonym: soutenir (figuratively; literary) to support (especially of an abstract, e.g., an opinion, theory, claim, etc.) Synonyms: appuyer, soutenir étayer la théorie ― support the theory ==== Conjugation ==== This is a regular -er verb as far as pronunciation is concerned, but as with other verbs in -ayer (such as payer and essayer), the <y> of its stem may optionally be written as <i> when it precedes a silent <e> (compare verbs in -eyer, which never have this spelling change, and verbs in -oyer and -uyer, which always have it; verbs in -ayer belong to either group, according to the writer's preference). === Further reading === “étayer”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012