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trunkless

 - 4 dictionary results

trunk

  [truhngk]
–noun
1. the main stem of a tree, as distinct from the branches and roots.
2. a large, sturdy box or chest for holding or transporting clothes, personal effects, or other articles.
3. a large compartment, usually in the rear of an automobile, in which luggage, a spare tire, and other articles may be kept.
4. the body of a person or an animal excluding the head and limbs; torso.
5. Ichthyology. the part of a fish between the head and the anus.
6. Architecture.
a. the shaft of a column.
b. the dado or die of a pedestal.
7. the main channel, artery, or line in a river, railroad, highway, canal, or other tributary system.
8. Telephony, Telegraphy.
a. a telephone line or channel between two central offices or switching devices that is used in providing telephone connections between subscribers generally.
b. a telegraph line or channel between two main or central offices.
9. Anatomy. the main body of an artery, nerve, or the like, as distinct from its branches.
10. trunks,
a. brief shorts, loose-fitting or tight, worn by men chiefly for boxing, swimming, and track.
b. Obsolete. trunk hose.
11. the long, flexible, cylindrical nasal appendage of the elephant.
12. Nautical.
a. a large enclosed passage through the decks or bulkheads of a vessel, for cooling, ventilation, or the like.
b. any of various watertight casings in a vessel, as the vertical one above the slot for a centerboard in the bottom of a boat.
13. a conduit; shaft; chute.
–adjective
14. of, pertaining to, or noting a main channel or line, as of a railroad or river.
Use trunkless in a Sentence
Origin:
1400–50; late ME trunke < L truncus stem, trunk, stump, n. use of truncus lopped

Related forms:
trunkless, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
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Word Origin & History

trunk 
1462, "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" of the organs. Eng. acquired the other two senses of the O.Fr. word later; sense of "main stem of a tree" dates from 1490; that of "torso of a human body" from 1494. The sense of "luggage compartment of a motor vehicle" is from 1930. The use in reference to an elephant's snout is from 1565, probably from confusion with trump (short for trumpet). Railroad trunk line is attested from 1843; telephone version is from 1889.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: trunk
Pronunciation: 'tr&[ng]k
Function: noun
1 : the human body apart from the head and appendages : TORSO
2 : the main body of an anatomical part (as a nerve or blood vessel) that divides into branches
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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trunk (trŭngk)
n.

  1. The body excluding the head and limbs.

  2. The main stem of a blood vessel or nerve apart from the branches.

  3. A large collecting lymphatic vessel.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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