noun.
An appliance which gives support to any part of the body, as the breasts or abdominal viscera.
noun.
One who supports or maintains.
noun.
An adherent; a partizan: as, a supporter of a candidate or of a faction.
noun.
One who accompanies a leader on some public occasion.
noun.
A sustainer; a comforter.
noun.
That which supports or upholds; that on which anything rests; a support; a prop.
noun.
Specifically— In ship-building, a knee placed under the cat-head; also, same as bibb.
noun.
In heraldry, the representation of a living creature accompanying the escutcheon and either holding it up or standing beside it as if to keep or guard it. In modern times supporters are usually two for each escutcheon, and are more commonly in pairs, the two of each pair being either exactly alike or simply reversed; it often happens, however, that they are quite different, as the Indian and sailor supporting the shield of New York, or the lion and unicorn supporting the royal shield of Great Britain. In medieval decorative art there was often one supporter, as an angel, who actually held the shield, standing behind it.