trenche

Middle English

Alternative forms

• trench

Etymology

Borrowed from Anglo-Norman trenche, from trenchier (“to cut”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtrɛnt͡ʃ(ə)/

Noun

trenche (plural trenches)

1. A path or way through a forest.
2. An abdominal affliction (such as a parasitic worm).
3. (rare) A snippet or slip of fabric.
4. (military, rare) A trench; a narrow ditch used as cover.

Related terms

• trenchen
• trenchour

Descendants

• English: trench
• Middle Scots: trinch

References

• “trench, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Old French

Etymology

From the verb trenchier (“to cut”).

Noun

trenche oblique singular, f (oblique plural trenches, nominative singular trenche, nominative plural trenches)

1. trench (manmade ditch)

Descendants

• Middle French: tranche
  • French: tranche
    • → English: tranche
• → Middle English: trenche
  • English: trench
    • → French: trench
  • Scots: trinch

Verb

trenche

1. first-person singular present indicative of trenchier
2. third-person singular present indicative of trenchier
3. first-person singular present subjunctive of trenchier
4. third-person singular present subjunctive of trenchier
5. second-person singular imperative of trenchier

References

• Godefroy, Frédéric, Dictionnaire de l’ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IX^e au XV^e siècle (1881) (tranche)
• trenche on the Anglo-Norman On-Line Hub