Trepan Definition

trĭ-păn
trepanned, trepanning, trepans
noun
An early form of the trephine.
Webster's New World
A heavy boring tool for sinking shafts, quarrying, etc.
Webster's New World
A person or thing that tricks, traps, or ensnares.
Webster's New World
A trickster.
American Heritage
A trick; stratagem; trap.
Webster's New World
Synonyms:
verb
trepanned, trepanning
To bore (a shaft) with a trepan.
American Heritage
Webster's New World
To cut a disk out of (a metal plate, ingot, etc.)
Webster's New World
To bore or otherwise make a hole in (the skull), as in certain prehistoric cultures or in surgery using a trephine.
American Heritage
To trick, trap, or lure.
Webster's New World
Synonyms:

Other Word Forms of Trepan

Noun

Singular:
trepan
Plural:
trepans

Origin of Trepan

  • Middle English trepane surgical crown saw from Medieval Latin trepanum from Greek trūpanon borer from trūpān to pierce from trūpē hole terə-1 in Indo-European roots

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • Possibly from Old English treppan (“to trap").

    From Wiktionary

  • From French trephine.

    From Wiktionary

  • Origin unknown

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

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