a wooden board or platter on which food is served or carved
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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.
2. A large wooden plate or platter, as for table use.
3. The table; hence, the pleasures of the table; food.
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.
{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.