trunk

trunk
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" of the organs. English acquired the other two senses of the Old French in late 15c.: "main stem of a tree" and "torso of a human body." The sense of "luggage compartment of a motor vehicle" is from 1930. The use in reference to an elephant's snout is from 1560s, perhaps from confusion with trump (short for trumpet). Railroad trunk line is attested from 1843; telephone version is from 1889.

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую
Synonyms:

Look at other dictionaries:

  • 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 — [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

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”