puncheon

[puhn-chuh n]

noun

a large cask of varying capacity, but usually 80 gallons (304 liters).
the volume of such a cask, used as a measure.

Origin of puncheon

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

puncheon

[puhn-chuh n]

noun

a heavy slab of timber, roughly dressed, for use as a floorboard.
a short, upright framing timber.
(in goldsmith work)
1. any of various pointed instruments; a punch.
2. 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. 2018

Examples from the Web for puncheon

Historical Examples of puncheon

This was called rolling-up a house, and the house was called a puncheon and bark house.
Home Life in Colonial Days
Alice Morse Earle
It was covered with clapboards and furnished with puncheon seats.
The Kentucky Ranger
Edward T. Curnick
This projected about a foot, and a puncheon roof was put over that.
The Young Alaskans on the Missouri
Emerson Hough
Fig. 277 shows a fireplace with a puncheon support for a plank mantel.
Shelters, Shacks and Shanties
D.C. Beard
C is the puncheon supporting the mantel and D is the mantel.
Shelters, Shacks and Shanties
D.C. Beard

British Dictionary definitions for puncheon

puncheon

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

puncheon

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

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.

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.