mortar board

2 definitions found

mortar board - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  mortarboard \mortarboard\, mortar board \mortar board\n.
     1. A small square board with a handle beneath, for holding
        mortar; a hawk; used by masons to hold or carry mortar.
        [1913 Webster + WordNet 1.5]
  
     2. An academic cap topped by broad, projecting, stiff and
        flat square top, with a tassel attached to the top and
        hanging down. It was once worn by students in some
        colleges, but is now worn usually only at graduation
        ceremonies.
        [1913 Webster + WordNet 1.5]

  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.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. A large wooden plate or platter, as for table use.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. The table; hence, the pleasures of the table; food.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              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.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     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.
        [1913 Webster]