Trencher \Trench"er\, n. [OE. trencheoir, F. tranchoir, fr.
trancher to cut, carve. See Trench, v. t.]
1. One who trenches; esp., one who cuts or digs ditches.
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2. A large wooden plate or platter, as for table use.
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3. The table; hence, the pleasures of the table; food.
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It could be no ordinary declension of nature that
could bring some men, after an ingenuous education,
to place their "summum bonum" upon their trenchers.
--South.
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Trencher cap, the cap worn by studens at Oxford and
Cambridge Universities, having a stiff, flat, square
appendage at top. A similar cap used in the United States
is called Oxford cap, mortar board, etc.
Trencher fly, a person who haunts the tables of others; a
parasite. [R.] --L'Estrange.
Trencher friend, one who frequents the tables of others; a
sponger.
Trencher mate, a table companion; a parasite; a trencher
fly. --Hooker.
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