What is "trench"

Trench \Trench\, v. i.

1. To encroach; to intrench.

   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?
   --I. Taylor.

2. To have direction; to aim or tend. [R.]
   --Bacon.

   To trench at, to make trenches against; to approach by trenches, as a town in besieging it. [Obs.]

   Like powerful armies, trenching at a town By slow and silent, but resistless, sap.
   --Young.

Trench \Trench\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Trenched; p. pr. & vb. n. Trenching.] [OF. trenchier to cut, F. trancher; akin to Pr. trencar, trenchar, Sp. trinchar, It. trinciare; of uncertain origin.]

1. To cut; to form or shape by cutting; to make by incision, hewing, or the like.

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

   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.
   --Shak.

2. (Fort.) To fortify by cutting a ditch, and raising a rampart or breastwork with the earth thrown out of the ditch; to intrench.
   --Pope.

   No more shall trenching war channel her fields.
   --Shak.

3. To cut furrows or ditches in; as, to trench land for the purpose of draining it.

4. To dig or cultivate very deeply, usually by digging parallel contiguous trenches in succession, filling each from the next; as, to trench a garden for certain crops.

Trench \Trench\, n. [OE. trenche, F. tranch['e]e. See Trench, v. t.]

1. A long, narrow cut in the earth; a ditch; as, a trench for draining land.
   --Mortimer.

2. An alley; a narrow path or walk cut through woods, shrubbery, or the like. [Obs.]

   In a trench, forth in the park, goeth she.
   --Chaucer.

3. (Fort.) An excavation made during a siege, for the purpose of covering the troops as they advance toward the besieged place. The term includes the parallels and the approaches.

   To open the trenches (Mil.), to begin to dig or to form the lines of approach.

   Trench cavalier (Fort.), an elevation constructed (by a besieger) of gabions, fascines, earth, and the like, about half way up the glacis, in order to discover and enfilade the covered way.

   Trench plow, or Trench plough, a kind of plow for opening land to a greater depth than that of common furrows.

late 14c., "track cut through a wood," later "long, narrow ditch" (late 15c.), from Old French trenche "a slice, cut, gash, slash; defensive ditch" (13c., Modern French tranche), from trenchier "to cut, carve, slice," possibly from Vulgar Latin *trincare, from Latin truncare "to cut or lop off" (see truncate). Trenches for military protection are first so called c.1500. Trench warfare first attested 1918. Trench-coat first recorded 1916, a type of coat worn by British officers in the trenches during World War I.

n. 1 A long, narrow ditch or hole dug in the ground. 2 (context military English) A narrow excavation as used in warfare, as a cover for besieging or emplaced forces. 3 (context archaeology English) A pit, usually rectangular with smooth walls and floor, excavated during an archaeological investigation. 4 (context informal English) A trench coat. vb. 1 {{context|usually|followed by (term upon English)|lang=en}} To invade, especially with regard to the rights or the exclusive authority of another; to encroach. 2 (context military infantry English) To excavate an elongated pit for protection of soldiers and or equipment, usually perpendicular to the line of sight toward the enemy. 3 (context archaeology English) To excavate an elongated and often narrow pit. 4 To have direction; to aim or tend. 5 To cut; to form or shape by cutting; to make by incision, hewing, etc. 6 To cut furrows or ditches in. 7 To dig or cultivate very deeply, usually by digging parallel contiguous trenches in succession, filling each from the next.

1. n. a ditch dug as a fortification having a parapet of the excavated earth

2. a long steep-sided depression in the ocean floor [syn: deep, oceanic abyss]

3. any long ditch cut in the ground

4. v. impinge or infringe upon; "This impinges on my rights as an individual"; "This matter entrenches on other domains" [syn: impinge, encroach, entrench]

5. fortify by surrounding with trenches; "He trenched his military camp"

6. cut or carve deeply into; "letters trenched into the stone"

7. set, plant, or bury in a trench; "trench the fallen soldiers"; "trench the vegetables"

8. cut a trench in, as for drainage; "ditch the land to drain it"; "trench the fields" [syn: ditch]

9. dig a trench or trenches; "The National Guardsmen were sent out to trench"

Trench is a surname.

The Trench family supposedly originated in County Galway, Ireland as descendants of Frederic de la Tranche, a 16th-century Huguenot immigrant from Normandy, and his wife Margaret Sutton, a possible Northumbrian. The peerage titles Baron Ashtown, Baron Kilconnel, Baron Trench, Earl of Clancarty, Marquess of Heusden and Viscount Dunlo have been held by various members.

A trench is a type of excavation or depression in the ground that is generally deeper than it is wide (as opposed to a wider gully, or ditch), and narrow compared to its length (as opposed to a simple hole).

In geology, trenches are created as a result of erosion by rivers or by geological movement of tectonic plates. In the civil engineering field, trenches are often created to install underground infrastructure or utilities (such as gas mains, water mains or telephone lines), or later to access these installations. Trenches have also often been dug for military defensive purposes. In archaeology, the "trench method" is used for searching and excavating ancient ruins or to dig into strata of sedimented material.

A trench is a narrow depression in the ground. Trench or Trenches may also refer to:

• Trench (surname) includes list of people with the name
• Oceanic trench
• Trenches (Web Series), a 2010 sci-fi TV series.
• Trench coat, a type of coat garment originally worn in trench warfare
• Trench foot, also known as Immersion foot, a medical condition caused by prolonged exposure of the feet to damp and cold
• Trench warfare, the kind of warfare defined by fortified earth defences
• Trenches (video game), a 2009 game for iPhone/iPod
• Trench Town, Jamaica
• Also see Tranche, one of a number of related securities offered as part of the same transaction