trepan

1
[ trih-pan ]
See synonyms for trepan on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a tool for cutting shallow holes by removing a core.

  2. Surgery. an obsolete form of the trephine resembling a carpenter's bit and brace.

verb (used with object),tre·panned, tre·pan·ning.
  1. Machinery. to cut circular disks from (plate stock) using a rotating cutter.

  2. Surgery. to operate upon with a trepan; trephine.

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/, noun
  • tre·pan·ner, noun

Other definitions for trepan (2 of 2)

trepan2
[ trih-pan ]

noun
  1. a person who ensnares or entraps others.

  2. a stratagem; a trap.

verb (used with object),tre·panned, tre·pan·ning.
  1. to ensnare or entrap.

  2. to entice.

  1. to cheat or swindle.

Origin of trepan

2
First recorded in 1635–45; earlier trapan; of obscure origin; perhaps a derivative of trap1
  • Also tra·pan [truh-pan] /trəˈpæn/ .

Other words from trepan

  • trep·a·na·tion, trap·a·na·tion [trep-uh-ney-shuhn], /ˌtrɛp əˈneɪ ʃən/, noun
  • tre·pan·ner, tra·pan·ner, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

British Dictionary definitions for trepan (1 of 2)

trepan1

/ (trɪˈpæn) /


noun
  1. surgery an instrument resembling a carpenter's brace and bit formerly used to remove circular sections of bone (esp from the skull): Compare trephine

  2. a tool for cutting out circular blanks or for making grooves around a fixed centre

    • the operation of cutting a hole with such a tool

    • the hole so produced

verb-pans, -panning or -panned (tr)
  1. to cut (a hole or groove) with a trepan

  2. surgery another word for trephine

Origin of trepan

1
C14: from Medieval Latin trepanum rotary saw, from Greek trupanon auger, from trupan to bore, from trupa a hole

Derived forms of trepan

  • trepanation (ˌtrɛpəˈneɪʃən), noun
  • trepanner, noun

British Dictionary definitions for trepan (2 of 2)

trepan2

trapan (trəˈpæn)

/ (trɪˈpæn) archaic /


verb-pans, -panning or -panned (tr)
  1. to entice, ensnare, or entrap

  2. to swindle or cheat

noun
  1. a person or thing that traps

Origin of trepan

2
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