from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
mortarboard \mortarboard\, mortar board \mortar board\n.
1. A small square board with a handle beneath, for holding
mortar; a hawk; used by masons to hold or carry mortar.
[1913 Webster + WordNet 1.5]
2. An academic cap topped by broad, projecting, stiff and
flat square top, with a tassel attached to the top and
hanging down. It was once worn by students in some
colleges, but is now worn usually only at graduation
ceremonies.
[1913 Webster + WordNet 1.5]
from
The 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.
[1913 Webster]
2. A large wooden plate or platter, as for table use.
[1913 Webster]
3. The table; hence, the pleasures of the table; food.
[1913 Webster]
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.
[1913 Webster]
{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.
[1913 Webster]