truncheon
Americannoun
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the club carried by a police officer; billy.
-
a staff representing an office or authority; baton.
-
the shattered shaft of a spear.
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Obsolete. cudgel; bludgeon.
verb (used with object)
noun
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a short thick club or cudgel carried by a policeman
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a baton of office
a marshal's truncheon
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archaic a short club or cudgel
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the shaft of a spear
verb
Etymology
Origin of truncheon
1300–50; Middle English tronchon fragment < Middle French < Vulgar Latin *trunciōn-, stem of *trunciō literally, a lopping. See trunk, -ion
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
And who breaks a kite upon a truncheon?
From Washington Post • Apr. 4, 2020
We snap back to the present, where Cortez—that’s the name on the back of the football jersey of this conquistador—flicks down an eye shield and snaps a truncheon to the ready.
From The New Yorker • Mar. 6, 2019
He’s such a menace that it’s tempting to cheer any vituperative critic and grab any handy truncheon.
From New York Times • Nov. 10, 2018
The butcher handed one of their puddings to the prince, who said, “My word, it’s like a truncheon, isn’t it? Will you please give Mr McCabe my best wishes?”
From The Guardian • Feb. 16, 2018
He held it up like a boy holding a stick of rock or a constable with his truncheon, looked at it, nibbled its tail.
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
