truncheon
truncheon Lexical Profile
truncheon Game Scores & Validity
• noun
British A short, thick club or baton carried primarily by police officers as an instrument of defense or restraint.
"The historical museum displayed an antique wooden truncheon carried by nineteenth-century London constables."
A ceremonial staff carried by a high-ranking official, such as an earl marshal, as a symbol of authority or office.
"During the state ceremony, the heraldic officer bore a gilded truncheon as a traditional emblem of rank."
• verb
British To strike or beat someone with a heavy baton or club.
"According to nineteenth-century court records, the watchman had to truncheon the intruder to secure the warehouse."
• Rhymes for truncheon
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed from Old French tronchon ('a broken piece of a spear or staff'), a diminutive derived from Latin truncus ('trunk of a tree').