n. 1. A rock-boring tool used in mining for sinking shafts. 2. Medicine A trephine. tr.v. tre·panned, tre·pan·ning, tre·pans 1. To bore (a shaft) with a trepan. 2. To bore or otherwise make a hole in (the skull), as in certain prehistoric cultures or in surgery using a trephine. [Middle English trepane, surgical crown saw, from Medieval Latin trepanum, from Greek trūpanon, borer, from trūpān, to pierce, from trūpē, hole; see terə-1 in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] trep′a·nation (trĕp′ə-nāshən) n. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
tr.v. tre·panned, tre·pan·ning, tre·pans To trap; ensnare. n. 1. A trickster. 2. A trick or snare. [Origin unknown.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.