truncheon Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a short stout club used primarily by policemen
    nightstick; billy club; billystick; baton; billy.

WordNet

Trun"cheon noun
Etymology
OE. tronchoun the shaft of a broken spear, broken piece, OF.tronchon, tronon, F. tronon, 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.
Definitions
  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.
Trun"cheon transitive verb
Definitions
  1. To beat with a truncheon. Shak.

Webster 1913