Truncheon

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: en, /ˈtɹʌntʃən/, /ˈtɹʌnʃən/
• Rhymes: -en, -ÊŒntʃən

Origin

From , from , from , from .

Full definition of truncheon

Noun

1. (obsolete) A fragment or piece broken off from something, especially a broken-off piece of a spear or lance.
• 1596, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, IV.3:Therewith asunder in the midst it brast,
  And in his hand nought but the troncheon left.
2. (obsolete) The shaft of a spear.
3. A short staff, a club; a cudgel.
• Spenser Faerie Queene|book=II|canto=VIII|stanza=39|passage=with his troncheon he so rudely stroke
  Cymochles twise
4. A baton, or military staff of command, now especially the stick carried by a police officer.
• Shakespeare Measure|II|II|line=60|text=Not the king's crown, nor the deputed sword
  The marshal's truncheon, nor the judge's robe
  Become them with one half so good a grace
  As mercy does.
5. (obsolete) A stout stem, as of a tree, with the branches lopped off, to produce rapid growth.
• Evelyn Sylva|passage=Truncheons of seven or eight feet long, thrust two feet into the earth ... when once rooted, may be cut at six inches above ground
6. (euphemistic) A penis.
• Cleland Fanny Hill|passage=Then, being on his knees between my legs, he drew up his shirt and bared all his hairy thighs, and stiff staring truncheon, red-topt and rooted into a thicket of curls

Verb

1. (transitive) To strike with a truncheon.
• Shakespeare Henry 4-2|2|4|passage=If captains were of my wind they would truncheon you out