Trencher

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Trencher \Trench"er\, n. [OE. trencheoir, F. tranchoir, fr.
     trancher to cut, carve. See {Trench}, v. t.]
     1. One who trenches; esp., one who cuts or digs ditches.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. A large wooden plate or platter, as for table use.


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     3. The table; hence, the pleasures of the table; food.
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              It could be no ordinary declension of nature that
              could bring some men, after an ingenuous education,
              to place their "summum bonum" upon their trenchers.
                                                    --South.
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     {Trencher cap}, the cap worn by studens at Oxford and
        Cambridge Universities, having a stiff, flat, square
        appendage at top. A similar cap used in the United States
        is called {Oxford cap}, {mortar board}, etc.
  
     {Trencher fly}, a person who haunts the tables of others; a
        parasite. [R.] --L'Estrange.
  
     {Trencher friend}, one who frequents the tables of others; a
        sponger.
  
     {Trencher mate}, a table companion; a parasite; a trencher
        fly. --Hooker.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  trencher
       n 1: someone who digs trenches
       2: a wooden board or platter on which food is served or carved