trencher

From Middle English trenchour, from Anglo-Norman trenchour and Old Northern French trencheor (French tranchoir), from trenchier (“to cut, to carve”). See trench (verb).

• IPA^(key): /ˈtɹɛnt͡ʃə(ɹ)/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛntʃə(ɹ)

trencher (plural trenchers)

2. (archaic or historical) A plate on which food is served or cut.
   • 1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London: A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC:

     Mrs Partridge, upon this, immediately fell into a fury, and discharged the trencher on which she was eating, at the head of poor Jenny […]

4. Someone who trenches; especially, one who cuts or digs ditches.
6. A machine for digging trenches.

   Coordinate term: (hand tool) entrenching tool

   • 1956 January, “New Permanent Way Equipment on British Railways”, in Railway Magazine, page 57:

     The milling action of the bucket line enables the trencher to cut through difficult materials, such as stone rubble and brick filling, and to leave a good trench with clean side walls.

• Trencher (tableware) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Trencher (machine) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

• retrench

trencher

1. alternative form of trenchier

This verb conjugates as a first-group verb ending in -er. In the present tense an extra supporting e is needed in the first-person singular indicative and throughout the singular subjunctive, and the third-person singular subjunctive ending -t is lost. Old French conjugation varies significantly by date and by region. The following conjugation should be treated as a guide.