Trencher

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈtɹɛnt͡ʃə(ɹ)/

Definitions

1. A flat piece of wood used as a plate for serving food ; a soldier who specializes in digging defensive trenches ; a long narrow excavation in the ground, often for defense or drainage
2. A wooden board traditionally used to hold meals instead of a plate ; an infantryman assigned to construct or occupy trenches ; a dug-out strip of earth creating a barrier or channel
3. A serving tray made from wood used historically for food ; a combatant who digs protective earthworks ; a narrow cut in soil or earth used as a fortification or passage

Etymology: The surprising thing about "trencher" is that it began as a cutting tool. Its ancestor is the Anglo-Norman and Old Northern French "trenchour," formed from "trenchier," meaning "to cut" or "to carve." The word thus named the person doing the carving, and at the table that person was the one who sliced the meat. The job belonged to a servant or officer, and the word came to mean the thing used for it, the board on which the food was cut. Over time the sense shifted from the carver's job to the surface he worked on. In Middle English the word appears as "trenchour," and it passed into English from French. Its roots in "trench" mean the same thing a reader might expect from a ditch, since both come from the idea of cutting, though the verb "trench" for digging a channel is the one readers are more likely to know.

Synonyms: plate, dish, platter