See quot. 1850.
1850. Richard took an axe, and very neatly proceeded to “butt” a log; that is, to cut the end of it square off.—S. Judd, ‘Richard Edney,’ p. 41.
1880. If we were buying the logs, we should try to get enough off the scale to pay for the butting.—Northwestern Lumberman, Jan. 24 (N.E.D.).
