Trephined

Part of speech: verb, adjective

Definitions

1. Treated by having a hole drilled or cut into the skull to relieve pressure or for surgical purposes
2. Having undergone a surgical procedure where a circular section of the skull is removed to address medical issues
3. Experienced an operation involving opening the skull to expose the brain typically to alleviate intracranial problems

Etymology: "Trephined" is the past form of "trephine," a verb meaning to cut a circular piece of bone out of the skull. The root is the ancient Greek "trúpanon," meaning an auger or borer, the kind of tool used to bore holes into wood. Its Latin descendant "trepanum" passed into French as "tréphine," and English borrowed that French form, so the surgical sense comes straight from a carpenter's drilling tool. The word has a close relative. "Trepan," with the same origin, reached English through a separate route and is a doublet of "trephine," meaning the two words developed from the same source by different paths. Trepan was also used as a verb for tricking someone into a trap, which shows how far the drilling sense could stretch.

Synonyms: drilled, cut, bored, punctured, opened