The Gutenberg Webster's Unabridged Dictionary

Chapter 1763

Chapter 17632,673 wordsPublic domain

3. (Fort.) An excavation made during a siege, for the purpose of covering the troops as they advance toward the besieged place. The term includes the parallels and the approaches .

To open the trenches (Mil.) , to begin to dig or to form the lines of approach. Trench cavalier (Fort.) , an elevation constructed (by a besieger) of gabions, fascines, earth, and the like, about half way up the glacis, in order to discover and enfilade the covered way. -- Trench plow , ∨ Trench plough , a kind of plow for opening land to a greater depth than that of common furrows.

Trenchand <Xpage=1535>

Trench"and (?) , a. Trenchant. [Obs.]

Spenser.

Trenchant <Xpage=1535>

Trench"ant (?) , a. [OF. trenchant , F. tranchant , p. pr. See Trench , v. t. ] 1. Fitted to trench or cut; gutting; sharp. " Trenchant was the blade."

Chaucer.

2. Fig.: Keen; biting; severe; as, trenchant wit .

Trenchantly <Xpage=1535>

Trench"ant*ly , adv. In a trenchant, or sharp, manner; sharply; severely.

Trencher <Xpage=1535>

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.

2. A large wooden plate or platter, as for table use.

3. The table; hence, the pleasures of the table; food.

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.

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.

Trencher-man <Xpage=1535>

Trench"er-man (?) , n. ; pl. Trencher-men (<?/) .

1. A feeder; a great eater; a gormandizer.

Shak.

2. A cook. [Obs.]

The skillfulest trencher-men of Media. Sir P. Sidney.

3. A table companion; a trencher mate.

Thackeray.

Trenchmore <Xpage=1535>

Trench"more (?) , n. A kind of lively dance of a rude, boisterous character. Also, music in triple time appropriate to the dance. [Obs.]

All the windows in the town dance new trenchmore . Beau. & Fl.

Trenchmore <Xpage=1535>

Trench"more (?) , v. i. To dance the trenchmore. [Obs.]

Marston.

Trench-plow, Trench-plough <Xpage=1535>

Trench"-plow" , Trench"-plough` (?) v. t. To plow with deep furrows, for the purpose of loosening the land to a greater depth than usual.

Trend <Xpage=1535>

Trend , v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Trended ; p. pr. & vb. n. Trending .] [OE. trenden to roll or turn about; akin to OFries. trind , trund , round, Dan. & Sw. trind , AS. trendel a circle, ring, and E. trendle , trundle .] To have a particular direction; to run; to stretch; to tend; as, the shore of the sea trends to the southwest .

Trend <Xpage=1535>

Trend , v. t. To cause to turn; to bend. [R.]

Not far beneath i' the valley as she trends Her silver stream. W. Browne.

Trend <Xpage=1535>

Trend , n. Inclination in a particular direction; tendency; general direction; as, the trend of a coast .

Trend of an anchor . (Naut.) (a) The lower end of the shank of an anchor, being the same distance on the shank from the throat that the arm measures from the throat to the bill. R. H. Dana, Jr. (b) The angle made by the line of a vessel's keel and the direction of the anchor cable, when she is swinging at anchor.

Trend <Xpage=1535>

Trend (?) , v. t. [Cf. G. & OD. trennen to separate.] To cleanse, as wool. [Prov. Eng.]

Trend <Xpage=1535>

Trend , n. Clean wool. [Prov. Eng.]

Trender <Xpage=1535>

Trend"er (?) , n. One whose business is to free wool from its filth. [Prov. Eng.]

Trendle <Xpage=1535>

Tren"dle (?) , n. [AS. trendel , tryndel , circle, ring. See Trend , v. i. , and cf. Trundle .] A wheel, spindle, or the like; a trundle. [Obs.]

The shaft the wheel, the wheel, the trendle turns. Sylvester.

Trental <Xpage=1535>

Tren"tal (?) , n. [LL. trentale , fr. L. triginta thirty; akin to tres three: cf. OF. trentel . See Three , and cf. Trigintal .] 1. (R. C. Ch.) An office and mass for the dead on the thirtieth day after death or burial. "Their trentals and their shrifts."

Spenser.

2. Hence, a dirge; an elegy.

Trenton period <Xpage=1535>

Tren"ton pe"ri*od (?) . (Geol.) A subdivision in the lower Silurian system of America; -- so named from Trenton Falls, in New York. The rocks are mostly limestones, and the period is divided into the Trenton , Utica , and Cincinnati epochs . See the Chart of Geology .

Trepan <Xpage=1535>

Tre*pan" (?) , n. [F. tr\'82pan (cf. Sp. tr\'82pano , It. trepano , trapano ), LL. trepanum , fr. Gr. <?/ a borer, auger, trepan, fr. <?/ to bore, <?/ a hole. Cf. Trephine .] 1. (Surg.) A crown-saw or cylindrical saw for perforating the skull, turned, when used, like a bit or gimlet. See Trephine .

2. (Mining) A kind of broad chisel for sinking shafts.

Trepan <Xpage=1535>

Tre*pan" , v. t. & i. [ imp. & p. p. Trepanned (?) ; p. pr. & vb. n. Trepanning .] [Cf. F. tr\'82paner . See Trepan a saw.] (Surg.) To perforate (the skull) with a trepan, so as to remove a portion of the bone, and thus relieve the brain from pressure or irritation; to perform an operation with the trepan.

Trepan <Xpage=1535>

Tre*pan" , n. [See Trapan .] 1. A snare; a trapan.

Snares and trepans that common life lays in its way. South.

2. a deceiver; a cheat.

He had been from the beginning a spy and a trepan . Macaulay.

Trepan <Xpage=1535>

Tre*pan" , v. t. To insnare; to trap; to trapan.

Guards even of a dozen men were silently trepanned from their stations. De Quincey.

Trepang <Xpage=1535>

Tre*pang" (?) , n. [Malay tr\'c6pang .] (Zo\'94l.) Any one of several species of large holothurians, some of which are dried and extensively used as food in China; -- called also b\'88che de mer , sea cucumber , and sea slug . [Written also tripang .]

&hand; The edible trepangs are mostly large species of Holothuria , especially H. edulis . They are taken in vast quantities in the East Indies, where they are dried and smoked, and then shipped to China. They are used as an ingredient in certain kinds of soup.

Trepanize <Xpage=1535>

Trep"an*ize (?) , v. t. To trepan. [Obs.] "By trepanizing the skull."

Jer. Taylor.

Trepanner <Xpage=1535>

Tre*pan"ner (?) , n. One who trepans. " Pitiful trepanners and impostors."

Gauden.

Trepeget <Xpage=1535>

Trep"e*get (?) , n. (Mil.) A trebuchet. [Obs.]

Trephine <Xpage=1535>

Tre*phine" (?; 277) , n. [A dim. of 1st trepan : cf. F. tr\'82phine .] (Surg.) An instrument for trepanning, being an improvement on the trepan. It is a circular or cylindrical saw, with a handle like that of a gimlet, and a little sharp perforator called the center pin .

Trephine <Xpage=1535>

Tre*phine" , v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Trephined (?) ; p. pr. & vb. n. Trephining .] To perforate with a trephine; to trepan.

Trepid <Xpage=1535>

Trep"id (?) , a. [L. trepidus .] Trembling; quaking.

Thackeray.

Trepidation <Xpage=1535>

Trep`i*da"tion (?) , n. [F. tr\'82pidation , L. trepidatio , fr. trepidare to hurry with alarm, to tremble, from trepidus agitated, disturbed, alarmed; cf. trepit he turns, Gr. <?/ to turn, E. torture .] 1. An involuntary trembling, sometimes an effect of paralysis, but usually caused by terror or fear; quaking; quivering.

2. Hence, a state of terror or alarm; fear; confusion; fright; as, the men were in great trepidation .

3. (Anc. Astron.) A libration of the starry sphere in the Ptolemaic system; a motion ascribed to the firmament, to account for certain small changes in the position of the ecliptic and of the stars.

Syn. -- Tremor; agitation; disturbance; fear.

Trepidity <Xpage=1535>

Tre*pid"i*ty , n. Trepidation. [R.]

Tresayle <Xpage=1535>

Tres"ayle` (tr&ecr;s"&amac;l`) , n. [F. trisa\'8beul , from L. tris , tres , three + F. a\'8beul grandfather. Cf. Besaiel , and see Ayle .] A grandfather's grandfather. [Obs.]

Writ of tresayle (O. Eng. Law) , a writ which lay for a man claiming as heir to his grandfather's grandfather, to recover lands of which he had been deprived by an abatement happening on the ancestor's death.

Mozley & W.

Tresor <Xpage=1535>

Tres"or (?) , n. Treasure. [Obs.]

Chaucer.

Trespass <Xpage=1535>

Tres"pass (?) , v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Trespassed (?) ; p. pr. & vb. n. Trespassing .] [ OF . trespasser to go across or over, transgress, F. tr\'82passer to die; pref. tres- (L. trans across, over) + passer to pass. See Pass , v. i. , and cf. Transpass .] 1. To pass beyond a limit or boundary; hence, to depart; to go. [Obs.]

Soon after this, noble Robert de Bruce . . . trespassed out of this uncertain world. Ld. Berners.

2. (Law) To commit a trespass; esp., to enter unlawfully upon the land of another.

3. To go too far; to put any one to inconvenience by demand or importunity; to intrude; as, to trespass upon the time or patience of another .

4. To commit any offense, or to do any act that injures or annoys another; to violate any rule of rectitude, to the injury of another; hence, in a moral sense, to transgress voluntarily any divine law or command; to violate any known rule of duty; to sin; -- often followed by against .

In the time of his distress did he trespass yet more against the Lord. 2 Chron. xxviii. 22.

Trespass <Xpage=1535>

Tres"pass (?) , n. [OF. tr<?/spas , F. tr\'82pas death. See Trespass , v. ] 1. Any injury or offence done to another.

I you forgive all wholly this trespass . Chaucer.

If ye forgive not men their trespasses , neither will your Father forgive your trespasses . Matt. vi. 15.

2. Any voluntary transgression of the moral law; any violation of a known rule of duty; sin.

The fatal trespass done by Eve. Milton.

You . . . who were dead in trespasses and sins. Eph. if. 1.

3. (Law) (a) An unlawful act committed with force and violence ( vi et armis ) on the person, property, or relative rights of another. (b) An action for injuries accompanied with force.

Trespass offering (Jewish Antiq.) , an offering in expiation of a trespass. -- Trespass on the case . (Law) See Action on the case , under Case .

Syn. -- Offense; breach; infringement; transgression; misdemeanor; misdeed.

Trespasser <Xpage=1535>

Tres"pass*er (?) , n. One who commits a trespass ; as: (a) (Law) One who enters upon another's land, or violates his rights. (b) A transgressor of the moral law; an offender; a sinner.

Tress <Xpage=1535>

Tress (?) , n. [OE. tresse , OF. trece , F. tresse , LL. tricia , fr. Gr. tri`cha threefold, because a tress is usually formed by interlacing three pieces; akin to trei^s three. See Three .] 1. A braid, knot, or curl, of hair; a ringlet.

Her yellow hair was braided in a tress . Chaucer.

Fair tresses man's imperial race insnare. Pope.

2. Fig.: A knot or festoon, as of flowers.

Keats.

Tressed <Xpage=1535>

Tressed (?) , a. 1. Having tresses.

2. Formed into ringlets or braided; braided; curled.

Spenser. Drayton.

Tressel <Xpage=1535>

Tres"sel (?) , n. A trestle.

Tressful <Xpage=1535>

Tress"ful (?) , a. Tressy. [R.]

Sylvester.

Tressure <Xpage=1535>

Tres"sure (?) , n. [F. tresser to twist, plait. See Tress , n. ] (Her.) A kind of border similar to the orle, but of only half the breadth of the latter.

Tressured <Xpage=1535>

Tres"sured (?) , a. (Her.) Provided or bound with a tressure; arranged in the form of a tressure.

The tressured fleur-de-lis he claims To wreathe his shield. Sir W. Scott.

Tressy <Xpage=1535>

Tress"y (?) , a. Abounding in tresses.

J. Baillie.

Trestle <Xpage=1535>

Tres"tle (?) , n. [OF. trestel , tresteay , F. tr\'82teau ; probably from L. transtillum a little crossbeam, dim. of transtrum a crossbeam. Cf. Transom .] [Written also tressel .] 1. A movable frame or support for anything, as scaffolding, consisting of three or four legs secured to a top piece, and forming a sort of stool or horse, used by carpenters, masons, and other workmen; also, a kind of framework of strong posts or piles, and crossbeams, for supporting a bridge, the track of a railway, or the like.

2. The frame of a table.

Trestle board , a board used by architects, draughtsmen, and the like, for drawing designs upon; -- so called because commonly supported by trestles. -- Trestle bridge . See under Bridge , n.

Trestletree <Xpage=1535>

Tres"tle*tree` (?) , n. (Naut.) One of two strong bars of timber, fixed horizontally on the opposite sides of the masthead, to support the crosstrees and the frame of the top; -- generally used in the plural.

Totten.

Trestlework <Xpage=1535>

Tres"tle*work` (?) , n. A viaduct, pier, scaffold, or the like, resting on trestles connected together.

Tres-tyne <Xpage=1535>

Tres"-tyne` (?) , n. [L. tris , tres , three + E. tyne .] (Zo\'94l.) In the antler of a stag, the third tyne above the base. This tyne appears in the third year. In those deer in which the brow tyne does not divide, the tres-tyne is the second tyne above the base. See Illust . under Rucervine , and under Rusine .

Tret <Xpage=1535>

Tret (?) , obs. 3d pers. sing. pres. of Tread , for treadeth .

Chaucer.

Tret <Xpage=1535>

Tret , n. [F. traite a drawing, trading, journey, tax on wares in transit, anything diminishing the value of coins, fr. OF. traire to draw, L. trahere . See Trait .] (Com.) An allowance to purchasers, for waste or refuse matter, of four pounds on every 104 pounds of suttle weight, or weight after the tare deducted.

M'Culloch.

Tretable <Xpage=1535>

Tret"a*ble (?) , a. [See Treatable .] Tractable; moderate. [Obs.]

By nature debonaire and tretable . Chaucer.

Trething <Xpage=1535>

Treth"ing (?) , n. [W. treth an allowance, contribution, tribute, or tax, trethu to rate or tax.] A tax; an impost. [Obs.]

Johnson.

Tretis, Tretys <Xpage=1535>

Tre"tis (?) , Tre"tys , n. [See Treatise .] A treatise; also, a treaty. [Obs.]

Chaucer.

Tretis, Tretys <Xpage=1535>

Tre*tis" (?) , Tre*tys" , a. [OF. traitis .] Long and well-proportioned; nicely made; pretty. [Obs.] "Her nose tretys ."

Chaucer.

Trevat <Xpage=1535>

Tre"vat (?) , n. A weaver's cutting instrument; for severing the loops of the pile threads of velvet.

Trevet <Xpage=1535>

Trev"et (?) , n. [See Trivet .] A stool or other thing supported by three legs; a trivet.

<page="1536"> Page 1536

Trew, Trewe <Xpage=1536>

Trew (?) , Trewe , a. True. [Obs.]

Chaucer.

Trews <Xpage=1536>

Trews (?) , n. pl. Trowsers; especially, those of the Scotch Highlanders. "He wore the trews , or close trowsers, made of tartan."

Sir W. Scott.

Trewth <Xpage=1536>

Trewth (?) , n. Truth. [Obs.]

Chaucer.

Trey <Xpage=1536>

Trey (?) , n. [OF. treis three, F. trois , L. tres . See Three , and cf. Tray-trip .] Three, at cards, dice, or dominoes; a card, die, or domino of three spots or pips.

Seven is my chance and thine is cinq and trey . Chaucer.

Tri- <Xpage=1536>

Tri- (?) . [Gr. tri- or L. tri- , sometimes through French; akin to L. tres three, and E. three . See Three .]

1. A prefix meaning three , thrice , threefold ; as in tri colored, tri dentate.

2. (Chem.) A prefix (also used adjectively) denoting three proportional or combining part , or the third degree of that to the name of which it is prefixed; as in tri sulphide, tri oxide, tri chloride.

Triable <Xpage=1536>

Tri"a*ble (?) , a. [From Try .] 1. Fit or possible to be tried; liable to be subjected to trial or test. "Experiments triable ."

Boyle.

2. (Law) Liable to undergo a judicial examination; properly coming under the cognizance of a court; as, a cause may be triable before one court which is not triable in another .

Triableness <Xpage=1536>

Tri"a*ble*ness , n. Quality or state of being triable.

Triacid <Xpage=1536>

Tri*ac"id (?) , a. [Pref. tri- + acid .] (Chem.) Capable of neutralizing three molecules of a monobasic acid or the equivalent; having three hydrogen atoms which may be acid radicals; -- said of certain bases; thus, glycerin is a triacid base.

Triacle <Xpage=1536>

Tri"a*cle (?) , n. See Treacle . [Obs.]

Chaucer.

Triacontahedral <Xpage=1536>

Tri`a*con`ta*he"dral (?) , a. [Gr. <?/ thirty + <?/ seat, base.] Having thirty sides.