puncheon

[ puhn-chuh n ]

/ ˈpʌn tʃən /

noun

a large cask of varying capacity, but usually 80 gallons (304 liters).

the volume of such a cask, used as a measure.

Nearby words

Origin of puncheon

1425–75; Middle English ponchoun, punchon < Middle French ponçon, perhaps to be identified with puncheon²

puncheon

[ puhn-chuh n ]

/ ˈpʌn tʃən /

noun

a heavy slab of timber, roughly dressed, for use as a floorboard.

a short, upright framing timber.

(in goldsmith work)

any of various pointed instruments; a punch.
a stamping tool.

Origin of puncheon

1325–75; Middle English ponson, punçon, ponchoun < Middle French ponçon < Latin pūnctiōn- (stem of pūnctiō) a pricking, hence, pricking tool, equivalent to pūnct(us) (past participle of pungere to prick; cf. point) + -iōn- -ion

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for puncheon

I preached it over several times in the granary with only Paddy, sitting immovably on a puncheon, for audience.
The Story Girl|Lucy Maud Montgomery
The gambler's teeth sank into Keith's arm, and the latter in return jammed the man's head back onto the puncheon floor viciously.
Keith of the Border|Randall Parrish
The bows of the vessel resembled the side of a tub, and the stern the end of a puncheon cut through the centre lengthways.
Young Lion of the Woods|Thomas Barlow Smith
Like the palisade and puncheon methods, the cruck was medieval down to its very core.
Virginia Architecture in the Seventeenth Century|Henry Chandlee Forman

The table and chairs were made of "puncheon," or slabs of wood, with holes bored under each corner to stick the legs in.
The Story of Young Abraham Lincoln|Wayne Whipple

British Dictionary definitions for puncheon

puncheon

/ (ˈpʌntʃən) /

noun

a large cask of variable capacity, usually between 70 and 120 gallons

the volume of such a cask used as a liquid measure

Word Origin for puncheon

C15 poncion, from Old French ponchon, of uncertain origin

noun

a short wooden post that is used as a vertical strut

a less common name for punch 2 (def. 1)

Word Origin for puncheon

C14 ponson, from Old French ponçon, from Latin punctiō a puncture, from pungere to prick

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for puncheon

puncheon

n.1

"barrel or cask for soap or liquor; iron vessel," c.1400, from Old French ponchon, ponson "wine vessel" (13c.), of unknown origin. Uncertain connection with puncheon "slab of timber, strut, wooden beam used as a support in building" (mid-14c.). Punch (n.2) in the drink sense is too late to be the source of the "cask" sense.

puncheon

n.2

"pointed tool for punching or piercing" used by masons, also "die for coining or seal-making," mid-14c.; see punch (n.1). Meaning "stamp, die" is from c.1500, a specialized use.