trepan

5 definitions found

trepan - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  Trepan \Tre*pan"\, n. [F. tr['e]pan (cf. Sp. tr['e]pano, It.
     trepano, trapano), LL. trepanum, fr. Gr. ? a borer, auger,
     trepan, fr. ? to bore, ? a hole. Cf. Trephine.]
     1. (Surg.) A crown-saw or cylindrical saw for perforating the
        skull, turned, when used, like a bit or gimlet. See
        Trephine.
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     2. (Mining) A kind of broad chisel for sinking shafts.
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  Trepan \Tre*pan"\, v. t. & i. [imp. & p. p. Trepanned; p. pr.
     & vb. n. Trepanning.] [Cf. F. tr['e]paner. See Trepan a
     saw.] (Surg.)
     To perforate (the skull) with a trepan, so as to remove a
     portion of the bone, and thus relieve the brain from pressure
     or irritation; to perform an operation with the trepan.
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  Trepan \Tre*pan"\, n. [See Trapan.]
     1. A snare; a trapan.
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              Snares and trepans that common life lays in its way.
                                                    --South.
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     2. a deceiver; a cheat.
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              He had been from the beginning a spy and a trepan.
                                                    --Macaulay.
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  Trepan \Tre*pan"\, v. t.
     To insnare; to trap; to trapan.
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           Guards even of a dozen men were silently trepanned from
           their stations.                          --De Quincey.
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trepan - WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005) :

  trepan
      n 1: a surgical instrument used to remove sections of bone from
           the skull [syn: trepan, trephine]
      2: a drill for cutting circular holes around a center
      v 1: cut a hole with a trepan, as in surgery