the main stem of a tree, as distinct from the branches and roots.
a large, sturdy box or chest for holding or transporting clothes, personal effects, or other articles.
a large compartment, usually in the rear of an automobile, in which luggage, a spare tire, and other articles may be kept.
the body of a person or an animal excluding the head and limbs; torso.
Ichthyology. the part of a fish between the head and the anus.
Architecture.
the shaft of a column.
the dado or die of a pedestal.
the main channel, artery, or line in a river, railroad, highway, canal, or other tributary system.
Telephony, Telegraphy.
a telephone line or channel between two central offices or switching devices that is used in providing telephone connections between subscribers generally.
a telegraph line or channel between two main or central offices.
Anatomy. the main body of an artery, nerve, or the like, as distinct from its branches.
trunks,
brief shorts, loose-fitting or tight, worn by men chiefly for boxing, swimming, and track.
mid-15c., "box, case," from Old French tronc "alms box in a church" (12c.), also "trunk of a tree, trunk of the human body," from Latin truncus, originally "mutilated, cut off." The meaning "box, case" is likely to be from the notion of the body as the "case" of the organs. English acquired the other two senses of the Old French in late 15c.: "main stem of a tree" and "torso of a human body." The sense of "luggage compartment of a motor vehicle" is from 1930. The use in reference to an elephant's snout is from 1560s, perhaps from confusion with trump (short for trumpet). Railroad trunk line is attested from 1843; telephone version is from 1889.
