oxford cap

1 definition found

oxford cap - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

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