trench

trench

See also: Trench

English

A British trench during World War I.

Etymology

Borrowed into Middle English from Old French trenche.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /t(ʃ)ɹɛnt͡ʃ/, /t(ʃ)ɹɛnʃ/
• Rhymes: -ɛnt͡ʃ

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

Noun

trench (plural trenches)

1. A long, narrow ditch or hole dug in the ground.
2. (military) A narrow excavation as used in warfare, as a cover for besieging or emplaced forces.
3. (archaeology) A pit, usually rectangular with smooth walls and floor, excavated during an archaeological investigation.
4. (informal) A trench coat.
   • 1999, April 24, Xiphias Gladius <[e-mail]>, "Re: trenchcoat mafia", ne.general.selected, Usenet:

     I was the first person in my high school to wear a trench and fedora constantly, and Ben was one of the first to wear a black trench.

   • 2007, Nina Garcia, The Little Black Book of Style, HarperCollins, as excerpted in Elle, October, page 138:

     A classic trench can work in any kind of weather and goes well with almost anything.

Derived terms

Terms derived from trench (noun)

• entrench
• in the trenches
• slit trench
• trench boot
• trench coat
• trench club
• trench fever
• trench foot
• trench knife
• trench mortar
• trench mouth
• trench warfare

Related terms

• tranche

Translations

long, narrow ditch or hole

Albanian: hendek (sq) m Arabic: خَنْدَق‎ m (ḵandaq), أُخْدُود‎ m (ʔuḵdūd) Armenian: խրամատ (hy) (xramat) Basque: lubaki Belarusian: траншэ́я f (tranšéja), роў m (roŭ), кана́ва f (kanáva), ако́п m (akóp) Bulgarian: и́зкоп (bg) m (ízkop), кана́вка (bg) f (kanávka) Catalan: trinxera (ca) f Chinese: Mandarin: 壕溝／壕沟 (zh) (háogōu), 戰壕／战壕 (zh) (zhànháo) Czech: příkop (cs) m, výkop (cs) m, zákop m, rýha (cs) f, brázda f Danish: grøft (da) c Dutch: geul (nl) f, sloot (nl) m or f, greppel (nl) m or f Esperanto: fosaĵo Finnish: oja (fi) French: tranchée (fr) f, fossé (fr) m Galician: trincheira (gl) f, gabia f, foxo (gl) m Georgian: თხრილი (txrili), ტრანშეა (ṭranšea) German: Graben (de) m Greek: χαράκωμα (el) n (charákoma) Ancient: τάφρος m (táphros) Hebrew: תְּעָלָה‎ (he) (te'ala) Hindi: खाई (hi) f (khāī) Hungarian: árok (hu) Ido: trancheo (io) Indonesian: palung (id) Ingrian: kanava Irish: díog f Italian: fosso (it) m, trincea (it) f, fossato (it) m Japanese: 塹壕 (ja) (ざんごう, zangō), トレンチ (ja) (torenchi), 溝 (ja) (みぞ, mizo) Khmer: ប្រឡាយ (km) (prɑlaay) Kikuyu: mũkaro class 3 Korean: 참호(塹壕) (ko) (chamho), 트렌치 (teurenchi) Lao: ຄູ (lo) (khū), ຮ່ອງ (hǭng) Latin: fossa f, scrobis m Macedonian: ров m (rov) Malay: parit (ms), jurang Norman: tranchie f Norwegian: Bokmål: grøft (no) m or f Ottoman Turkish: خندق‎ (hendek) Persian: ترانشه‎ (trânše) Polish: okop (pl) m, rów (pl) m Portuguese: fosso (pt) m Romanian: tranșee (ro) f, fosă (ro) f Russian: транше́я (ru) f (tranšéja), око́п (ru) m (okóp), ров (ru) m (rov), кана́ва (ru) f (kanáva) Scottish Gaelic: trainnse f, clais f Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: о̀пкоп m, ро̏в m, ја́рак m Roman: òpkop (sh) m, rȍv (sh) m, járak (sh) m Slovak: priekopa f, výkop m, zákop m Slovene: jarek (sl) m, rov m Spanish: trinchera (es) f Swahili: mtaro (sw), handaki (sw) Swedish: dike (sv) n, fåra (sv) c, ränna (sv) c Tagalog: trintsera Tajik: хандақ (xandaq) Telugu: కందకము (te) (kandakamu) Thai: คู (th) (kuu), ร่อง (th) (rɔ̂ng) Tibetan: ས་ཤུར (sa shur) Turkish: hendek (tr), siper (tr) Ukrainian: транше́я f (tranšéja), око́п (uk) m (okóp), окі́п (uk) m (okíp), рів (uk) m (riv), кана́ва (uk) f (kanáva) Vietnamese: hào (vi) Welsh: ffos f

military excavation

Afrikaans: loopgraaf Albanian: hendek (sq) m Arabic: خَنْدَق‎ m (ḵandaq) Armenian: խրամ (hy) (xram), խանդակ (hy) (xandak) Azerbaijani: xəndək (az) Belarusian: ако́п m (akóp), траншэ́я f (tranšéja), роў m (roŭ) Bulgarian: око́п (bg) m (okóp), транше́я (bg) f (tranšéja) Chinese: Mandarin: 壕溝／壕沟 (zh) (háogōu) Czech: zákop m Danish: skyttegrav (da) c Dutch: loopgraaf (nl) f Esperanto: tranĉeo Estonian: kaevik Finnish: juoksuhauta (fi), ampumahauta French: tranchée (fr) f Galician: trincheira (gl) f Georgian: სანგარი (sangari), ტრანშეა (ṭranšea) German: Schützengraben (de) m, Graben (de) m Greek: όρυγμα (el) n (órygma) Ancient: ὄρυγμα n (órugma) Hindi: खाई (hi) f (khāī) Hungarian: lövészárok (hu) Icelandic: skotgröf f Italian: trincea (it) f, fossato (it) m, buca (it) f Kazakh: жертаса (jertasa), траншея (tranşeä), ор (kk) (or) Kurdish: Northern Kurdish: siper (ku) Kyrgyz: окоп (okop), траншея (ky) (tranşeya) Latvian: tranšeja f, ierakums m Lithuanian: apkasas m Macedonian: ров m (rov), транше́ја f (tranšéja) Maori: awarua, kōruarua Middle English: trenche Norwegian: Bokmål: skyttergrav m or f Nynorsk: skyttargrav f Ottoman Turkish: خندق‎ (hendek) Pashto: سنګر‎ m (sangar) Persian: سنگر‎ (fa) (sangar), ترانشه‎ (trânše), خندق‎ (fa) (xandaq) Polish: okop (pl) m, rów (pl) m, transzeja (pl) f Portuguese: trincheira f Romanian: tranșee (ro) f Russian: око́п (ru) m (okóp), транше́я (ru) f (tranšéja), ров (ru) m (rov) Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: транше́ја f Roman: tranšéja (sh) f Slovak: zákop m Slovene: jarek (sl) m Spanish: trinchera (es) f Swedish: skyttegrav (sv) c Tagalog: trintsera Tajik: хандақ (xandaq) Thai: คู (th) (kuu) Turkish: siper (tr) Ukrainian: око́п (uk) m (okóp), окі́п (uk) m (okíp), транше́я f (tranšéja), рів (uk) m (riv) Urdu: خَنْدَق‎ (xandaq) Uyghur: خەندەك‎ (xendek), ئاكوپ‎ (akop) Uzbek: transheya (uz), okop (uz), xandaq (uz) Vietnamese: chiến hào (vi) Yiddish: אַקאָפּע‎ f (akope)

Verb

trench (third-person singular simple present trenches, present participle trenching, simple past and past participle trenched)

1. (usually followed by upon) To invade, especially with regard to the rights or the exclusive authority of another; to encroach.
   • 1640, Ben Jonson, Underwoods, page 68:

     Shee is the Judge, Thou Executioner, Or if thou needs would'st trench upon her power, Thou mightst have yet enjoy'd thy crueltie, With some more thrift, and more varietie.

   • 1832, [Isaac Taylor], Saturday Evening. […], London: Holdsworth and Ball, OCLC 2619891:

     Does it not seem as if for a creature to challenge to itself a boundless attribute, were to trench upon the prerogative of the divine nature?

   • 1949, Charles Austin Beard, American Government and Politics, page 16:

     He could make what laws he pleased, as long as those laws did not trench upon property rights.

   • 2005, Carl von Clausewitz, J. J. Graham, On War, page 261:

     [O]ur ideas, therefore, must trench upon the province of tactics.

2. (military, infantry) To excavate an elongated pit for protection of soldiers and or equipment, usually perpendicular to the line of sight toward the enemy.
   • c. 1597 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Fourth, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act I, scene i]:

     No more shall trenching war channel her fields.

   • 1715–1720, Homer; [Alexander] Pope, transl., “(please specify the book of the Iliad or chapter quoted from)”, in The Iliad of Homer, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London: […] W[illiam] Bowyer, for Bernard Lintott […], OCLC 670734254:

     Advanc'd upon the field there stood a mound
     Of earth congested, wall'd , and trench'd around

3. (archaeology) To excavate an elongated and often narrow pit.
4. To have direction; to aim or tend.
   • 1625, Francis [Bacon], “Of Judicature”, in The Essayes […], 3rd edition, London: […] Iohn Haviland for Hanna Barret, OCLC 863521290:

     the reason and consequence thereof may trench to point of estate

5. To cut; to form or shape by cutting; to make by incision, hewing, etc.
   • 1593, [William Shakespeare], Venus and Adonis, London: […] Richard Field, […], OCLC 837166078; Shakespeare’s Venus & Adonis: […], 4th edition, London: J[oseph] M[alaby] Dent and Co. […], 1896, OCLC 19803734:

     The wide wound that the boar had trenched / In his soft flank.

   • c. 1590–1591, William Shakespeare, “The Two Gentlemen of Verona”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act III, scene ii]:

     This weak impress of love is as a figure / Trenched in ice, which with an hour's heat
     Dissolves to water, and doth lose its form.

6. To cut furrows or ditches in.

   to trench land for the purpose of draining it

7. To dig or cultivate very deeply, usually by digging parallel contiguous trenches in succession, filling each from the next.

   to trench a garden for certain crops

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French

Etymology

From English.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tʁɛntʃ/

Noun

trench m (plural trenchs)

1. trench coat

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Italian

Etymology

From English trench coat.

Noun

trench m (invariable)

1. trench coat

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Middle English

Noun

trench

1. Alternative form of trenche