Truncheon

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

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. With his truncheon he so rudely struck. --Spenser. 2. A baton, or military staff of command. The marshal's truncheon nor the judges robe. --Shak. 3. A stout stem, as of a tree, with the branches lopped off, to produce rapid growth. --Gardner.