1.
[syn: truncheon, nightstick, baton, billy, billystick, billy club]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Truncheon \Trun"cheon\, v. t.
To beat with a truncheon. --Shak.
[1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Truncheon \Trun"cheon\, n. [OE. tronchoun the shaft of a broken
spear, broken piece, OF. tronchon, tron?on, F. tron?on, fr.
OF. & F. tronce, tronche, a piece of wood; cf. OF. trons,
tros, trois; all perhaps from L. thyrsus a stalk, stem,
staff. See Thyrsus, and cf. Trounce.]
1. A short staff, a club; a cudgel; a shaft of a spear.
[1913 Webster]
With his truncheon he so rudely struck. --Spenser.
[1913 Webster]
2. A baton, or military staff of command.
[1913 Webster]
The marshal's truncheon nor the judges robe. --Shak.
[1913 Webster]
3. A stout stem, as of a tree, with the branches lopped off,
to produce rapid growth. --Gardner.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
truncheon
n 1: a short stout club used primarily by policemen [syn:
truncheon, nightstick, baton, billy, billystick,
billy club]