Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “trencher” come from?

Trencher comes from Anglo-Norman trenchour, from Middle English trenchour, with origins in cutting or serving food based on the root sense of dividing.

trencher (English): A long plate on which food is served and/or cut;...

Definitions

  1. A long plate on which food is served and/or cut;...

Ancestry of “trencher”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishtrenchour—
2Anglo-Normantrenchourcutter
3Old Frenchtrenchierto cut
4Vulgar Latintrinicarecut into three parts; cut in three parts
5Latintrininominative masculine plural of trīnus; genitive...
6Latintresthree; 3
7EnglishthreeA numerical value after two and before four....
8Middle Englishthrethree
9Old Englishþrī—
10Proto-West Germanicþrīʀthree
11Proto-Germanicþrīzthree
12Proto-Indo-European*tréyes—

Words derived from “trencher”

  • trencherman
  • trencherful
  • trencher-man
  • trencherlike
  • trenchermanship
  • truinnsear
Every word from Proto-Indo-European *tréyes →