Dictionary.com

trepan

1
[ trih-pan ]
/ trɪˈpæn /
Save This Word!

noun
a tool for cutting shallow holes by removing a core.
Surgery. an obsolete form of the trephine resembling a carpenter's bit and brace.
verb (used with object), tre·panned, tre·pan·ning.
Machinery. to cut circular disks from (plate stock) using a rotating cutter.
Surgery. to operate upon with a trepan; trephine.
QUIZ
CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?
There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?
Question 1 of 7
Which sentence is correct?

Origin of trepan

1
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English noun trepane, from Middle French trepan “surgical crown saw,” from Medieval Latin trepanum, from Greek trȳ́panon “borer,”verb derivative of the noun

OTHER WORDS FROM trepan

trep·a·na·tion [trep-uh-ney-shuhn], /ˌtrɛp əˈneɪ ʃən/, nountre·pan·ner, noun

Other definitions for trepan (2 of 2)

trepan2
[ trih-pan ]
/ trɪˈpæn /
Archaic.

noun
a person who ensnares or entraps others.
a stratagem; a trap.
verb (used with object), tre·panned, tre·pan·ning.
to ensnare or entrap.
to entice.
to cheat or swindle.
Also tra·pan [truh-pan] /trəˈpæn/ .

Origin of trepan

2
First recorded in 1635–45; earlier trapan; of obscure origin; perhaps a derivative of trap1

OTHER WORDS FROM trepan

trep·a·na·tion, trap·a·na·tion [trep-uh-ney-shuhn], /ˌtrɛp əˈneɪ ʃən/, nountre·pan·ner, tra·pan·ner, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use trepan in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for trepan (1 of 2)

trepan1
/ (trɪˈpæn) /

noun
surgery an instrument resembling a carpenter's brace and bit formerly used to remove circular sections of bone (esp from the skull)Compare trephine
a tool for cutting out circular blanks or for making grooves around a fixed centre
  1. the operation of cutting a hole with such a tool
  2. the hole so produced
verb -pans, -panning or -panned (tr)
to cut (a hole or groove) with a trepan
surgery another word for trephine

Derived forms of trepan

trepanation (ˌtrɛpəˈneɪʃən), nountrepanner, noun

Word Origin for trepan

C14: from Medieval Latin trepanum rotary saw, from Greek trupanon auger, from trupan to bore, from trupa a hole

British Dictionary definitions for trepan (2 of 2)

trepan2

trapan (trəˈpæn)

/ (trɪˈpæn) archaic /

verb -pans, -panning or -panned (tr)
to entice, ensnare, or entrap
to swindle or cheat
noun
a person or thing that traps

Word Origin for trepan

C17: of uncertain origin
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
FEEDBACK