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trun·cheon

(trŭnchən)

1. A short stick carried by police; a billy club.

2. A staff carried as a symbol of office or authority; a baton.

3. A thick cutting from a plant, as for grafting.

4. Obsolete A heavy club; a cudgel.

[Middle English tronchon, piece broken off, club, from Old North French, from Vulgar Latin *trunciō, *trunciōn-, from Latin truncus, trunk; see TRUNK.]

truncheon v.

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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