trencher1
/ˈtrɛnʃə
/noun
1 historical A wooden plate or platter for food.Then one evening dull, as Stien stood by the large wash bin in the inn scrubbing food from used trenchers, a group of six men Stien had never seen before entered through the thick, wooden door....
- Anisia placed a trencher of food in front of a customer.
- He had been hulking behind him the entire time, holding a wooden trencher piled high with protein and fiber.
1.1A thick slice of bread used as a plate or platter.Coarse bread for trenchers (slices used as plates) was made from barley or rye....
- During the Middle Ages, thick blocks of coarse stale bread called trenchers were used in place of plates.
- Ever the man at arms, Gianni used his dagger to spear a slice of ham, and a trencher of bread to scoop up his eggs.
2 old-fashioned term for mortar board (sense 1).Academic dress for certificants is a black trencher cap and an undergraduate gown together with a black stole with a facing of tangerine....
- On cue, ninety-seven sleeved left arms came up and rotated ninety-seven triangular trencher caps so the longest tip pointed forward.
- Bachelors - A black gown and trencher cap with a turquoise blue hood lined to a depth of 10 centimetres with the appropriate faculty colour.
Origin
Middle English: from Anglo-Norman French trenchour, from Old French trenchier 'to cut' (see trench).
Rhymes
trencher2
/ˈtrɛnʃə/noun
A machine or attachment used in digging trenches.The array was as distinctive as varied - right from earthquake detectors, energy efficient stoves, to trenchers, water-harvesting machines, and corn-roasters....
- Contractors in underground construction find the backhoe attachment for a trencher practical.
- Its most popular segmented tire is used for grading and excavation work mounted on skid-steer loaders, backhoe loaders, tool carriers, wheel loaders, or trenchers.