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The Collaborative International Dictionary
Trunk line

Trunk \Trunk\, n. [F. tronc, L. truncus, fr. truncus maimed, mutilated; perhaps akin to torquere to twist wrench, and E. torture. Trunk in the sense of proboscis is fr. F. trompe (the same word as trompe a trumpet), but has been confused in English with trunk the stem of a tree (see Trump a trumpet). Cf. Truncate.]

  1. The stem, or body, of a tree, apart from its limbs and roots; the main stem, without the branches; stock; stalk.

    About the mossy trunk I wound me soon, For, high from ground, the branches would require Thy utmost reach.
    --Milton.

  2. The body of an animal, apart from the head and limbs.

  3. The main body of anything; as, the trunk of a vein or of an artery, as distinct from the branches.

  4. (Arch) That part of a pilaster which is between the base and the capital, corresponding to the shaft of a column.

  5. (Zo["o]l.) That segment of the body of an insect which is between the head and abdomen, and bears the wings and legs; the thorax; the truncus.

  6. (Zo["o]l.)

    1. The proboscis of an elephant.

    2. The proboscis of an insect.

  7. A long tube through which pellets of clay, p?as, etc., are driven by the force of the breath.

    He shot sugarplums them out of a trunk.
    --Howell.

  8. A box or chest usually covered with leather, metal, or cloth, or sometimes made of leather, hide, or metal, for containing clothes or other goods; especially, one used to convey the effects of a traveler.

    Locked up in chests and trunks.
    --Shak.

  9. (Mining) A flume or sluice in which ores are separated from the slimes in which they are contained.

  10. (Steam Engine) A large pipe forming the piston rod of a steam engine, of sufficient diameter to allow one end of the connecting rod to be attached to the crank, and the other end to pass within the pipe directly to the piston, thus making the engine more compact.

  11. A long, large box, pipe, or conductor, made of plank or metal plates, for various uses, as for conveying air to a mine or to a furnace, water to a mill, grain to an elevator, etc.

    Trunk engine, a marine engine, the piston rod of which is a trunk. See Trunk, 10.

    Trunk hose, large breeches formerly worn, reaching to the knees.

    Trunk line, the main line of a railway, canal, or route of conveyance.

    Trunk turtle (Zo["o]l.), the leatherback.

WordNet
trunk line
  1. n. line that is the main route on a railway [syn: trunk route]

  2. a telephone line connecting two exchanges directly

Wikipedia
Trunk Line

The Trunk Line is a railway line in Norway which runs between Oslo and Eidsvoll. The line is owned by the Norwegian National Rail Administration.

Usage examples of "trunk line".

The waxer is a very short Asian woman who does it so delicately that it doesn't even interfere with his talking, mostly about his efforts to extend his cable TV network throughout Korea and into China and link it up with his big fiber-optic trunk line that runs across Siberia and over the Urals.

The waxer is a very short Asian woman who does itso delicately that it doesn't even interfere with his talking, mostly about his efforts to extend his cable TV network throughout Korea and into China and link it up with his big fiber-optic trunk line that runs across Siberia and over the (Jrals.

Every twenty hours, Greenstalk and Blueshell jigged the ship sideways a few light-years, into some major trunk line of the Known Net to soak up the News.

The normally unflappable Corky was surprised to hear Metcalfe's voice on a direct trunk line from Berlin.

Threepio, before he'd shut down, had tried to tap into the Will on this terminal and had reported that though power still functioned in some of its circuits, cable-greedy Jawas had torn out the computer connections somewhere up the trunk line.

By the end of the sixth round Blanchard's eyebrows were a gashed ridge of blood and my sides were welted from trunk line to rib cage.