trunk

trunk
\ \ [15] Trunk came via Old French tronc from Latin truncus (source also of English trench and truncate). This denoted ‘something with its protruding parts torn off’, hence ‘something regarded separately from its protruding parts’ – the stem of a tree without its branches, or a body without its limbs. The application of the English word to an ‘elephant’s proboscis’, which dates from the 16th century, apparently arose from some confusion with trumptrumpet’.
\ \ Cf.TRENCH, TRUNCATE

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • Trunk — may refer to:In biology: *Trunk, torso *Trunk, an elephant s proboscis or nose *Trunk (botany), a tree s central superstructureIn containers: *Trunk (luggage) *Trunk (automobile), a large storage compartment *Trunk (motorcycle), a storage… …   Wikipedia

  • Trunk — Trunk, n. [F. tronc, L. truncus, fr. truncus maimed, mutilated; perhaps akin to torquere to twist wrench, and E. torture. Trunk in the sense of proboscis is fr. F. trompe (the same word as trompe a trumpet), but has been confused in English with… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Trunk — ist der Familienname folgender Personen: Alexander Trunk (* 1957), deutscher Rechtswissenschaftler Dieter Trunk (* 1959), deutscher Fußballspieler Gustav Trunk (1871–1936), deutscher Politiker (Zentrum) und Staatspräsident von Baden Johann Jakob… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • trunk — [trʌŋk] n ↑branch, ↑leaves, ↑trunk ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ 1¦(tree)¦ 2¦(car)¦ 3¦(elephant)¦ 4¦(clothes)¦ 5¦(box)¦ 6¦(body)¦ ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ [Date: 1400 1500; : Old French; Origin: tronc …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • Trunk — Trunk, v. t. [Cf. F. tronquer. See {Truncate}.] 1. To lop off; to curtail; to truncate; to maim. [Obs.] Out of the trunked stock. Spenser. [1913 Webster] 2. (Mining) To extract (ores) from the slimes in which they are contained, by means of a… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • trunk — (n.) mid 15c., box, case, from O.Fr. tronc alms box in a church (12c.), also trunk of a tree, trunk of the human body, from L. truncus, originally mutilated, cut off. The meaning box, case is likely to be from the notion of the body as the case… …   Etymology dictionary

  • trunk — [truŋk] n. [ME tronke < OFr tronc < L truncus, a stem, trunk < truncus, maimed, mutilated < IE * tronkus < base * trenk , to press together, crowd > THRONG] 1. the main stem of a tree 2. the body of a human being or animal, not… …   English World dictionary

  • trunk — [n1] body, core block, bole, butt, column, log, soma, stalk, stem, stock, thorax, torso; concepts 392,428,826 Ant. extremities trunk [n2] long nose of animal beak, proboscis, prow, snoot*, snout; concept 399 trunk [n3] …   New thesaurus

  • Trunk — »Getränk (das man gerade zu sich nimmt); gewohnheitsmäßiger Genuss von Alkohol«: Das altgerm. Substantiv mhd. trunc, ahd. trunk, niederl. dronk, engl. drink (beachte das Fremdwort »Drink« »alkoholisches ‹Misch›getränk«), schwed. dryck ist eine… …   Das Herkunftswörterbuch

  • trunk- — *trunk germ., Substantiv: nhd. Baumstumpf, Stumpf; ne. tree trunk; Interferenz: Lehnwort lat. truncus; Etymologie: s. lat. truncus, Maskulinum, Baumstamm, Rumpf; …   Germanisches Wörterbuch

  • trunk — ► NOUN 1) the main woody stem of a tree as distinct from its branches and roots. 2) a person s or animal s body apart from the limbs and head. 3) the elongated, prehensile nose of an elephant. 4) a large box with a hinged lid for storing or… …   English terms dictionary

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