Truncheon

  • 1Truncheon — Trun cheon, n. [OE. tronchoun the shaft of a broken spear, broken piece, OF. tronchon, tron?on, F. tron?on, fr. OF. & F. tronce, tronche, a piece of wood; cf. OF. trons, tros, trois; all perhaps from L. thyrsus a stalk, stem, staff. See {Thyrsus} …

    The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • 2Truncheon — Trun cheon, v. t. To beat with a truncheon. Shak. [1913 Webster] …

    The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • 3truncheon — [trun′chən] n. [ME tronchoun < OFr tronchon < VL * truncio < L truncus, a stem, TRUNK] 1. Obs. a short, thick club; cudgel 2. any staff or baton used as a symbol of authority 3. Chiefly Brit. a policeman s stick or billy 4. Obs. the… …

    English World dictionary

  • 4truncheon — index beat (strike), cudgel, lash (strike) Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …

    Law dictionary

  • 5truncheon — c.1300, shaft of a spear, also short stick, cudgel, from O.N.Fr. tronchon, O.Fr. tronchon (11c.) a piece cut off, thick stick, stump, from V.L. *truncionem (nom. *truncio), from L. truncus (see TRUNK (Cf. trunk)). Meaning staff as a symbol of… …

    Etymology dictionary

  • 6truncheon — ► NOUN chiefly Brit. ▪ a short thick stick carried as a weapon by a police officer. ORIGIN Old French tronchon stump , from Latin truncus trunk …

    English terms dictionary

  • 7truncheon — UK [ˈtrʌntʃ(ə)n] / US [ˈtrʌntʃən] noun [countable] Word forms truncheon : singular truncheon plural truncheons a short thick stick carried by a police officer as a weapon …

    English dictionary

  • 8truncheon — I. noun Etymology: Middle English tronchoun, from Anglo French trunchun, from Vulgar Latin *truncion , *truncio, from Latin truncus trunk Date: 14th century 1. a shattered spear or lance 2. a. obsolete club, bludgeon b. baton 2 …

    New Collegiate Dictionary

  • 9truncheon — noun /ˈtɹʌntʃən/ a) A short staff, a club; a cudgel. Helpe me that thys truncheoune were oute of my syde, for hit stykith so sore that hit nyghe sleyth me. b) A baton, or military staff of …

    Wiktionary

  • 10Truncheon — Something broken or cut off, a fragment, usually of a spear or *lance; also, the shaft of a spear; the stump of a tree; then a thick stick or cudgel; a staff of office. When, in the 14c the king witnessed a duel at Smithfield or Cheapside, and he …

    Dictionary of Medieval Terms and Phrases