trunk

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A communications channel between two points. It generally refers to a high-bandwidth, fiber-optic line between telephone switching centers (central offices). Telephone "trunks" handle thousands of simultaneous voice and data signals, whereas telephone "lines" are the wires from the telephone company to your home or office. See central office.

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n

Definition: body, core
Antonyms: extremities

Body excluding the head, neck, and limbs.

The stem or axis of a tree.

IN BRIEF: n. - Compartment in an automobile that carries things; The main stem of a tree.

Igdrasil, the Ash-tree of existence, has its roots deep-down in the kingdoms of Death: its trunk reaches up heaven-high, spreads its boughs over the whole Universe: it is the Tree of Existence. — Thomas Carlyle

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The trunk of a tree may represent one's inner sense of well-being and personality. A thick bark over a large, hefty trunk denotes a strong, rugged, and durable person. A thin, narrow, bark-free tree trunk suggests a highly sensitive but wiry individual. If the trunk is the long nose of an elephant, the dreamer may have a strong "nose for the news" and a very good memory. Alternatively an elephant's trunk may have a phallic and sexual meaning. Finally, a trunk in the sense of an old-fashioned storage case may reveal the old memories and secrets to which the dreamer is clinging.

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1. the main part, as the part of the body to which the head and limbs are attached, or a larger structure (e.g. vessel or nerve) from which smaller divisions or branches arise, or which is created by their union.
2. the extended nose of the elephant, containing many muscles giving it extraordinary strength and mobility. Anatomically it includes the nose and upper lip. There is a single finger-like papilla on the dorsal part of the tip in the Asian elephant and two papillae on the African elephant.

• bicarotid t. — a short artery which is the origin of the common carotid arteries in ungulates.
• brachiocephalic t.
• celiac t. — the arterial trunk arising from the abdominal aorta and giving origin to the left gastric, common hepatic, and splenic arteries;
• costocervical t. — a branch of the subclavian artery;
• lumbar lymph t. — a plexus of lymph vessels on the roof of the abdomen; drain into the cisterna chyli.
• lumbosacral t. — a nerve trunk formed by union of the ventral branches of the lumbar and sacral nerves;
• pudendoepigastric t.
• pulmonary t. — a vessel arising from the conus arteriosus of the right ventricle and bifurcating into the right and left pulmonary arteries;
• sympathetic t. — see sympathetic trunk.
• vagal t. — see dorsal, ventral vagal trunks in Table 14.

For a list of words related to trunk, see:

• Trunk - trunk: central portion of body apart from head, arms, and legs
• Aspects and Components of Appearance - trunk: central part of body to which limbs and head are attached; torso
• Animal Types and Parts - trunk: long, flexible snout or proboscis, as on elephant
• Botany and Plant Parts - trunk: main stem of tree
• Cases, Boxes, and Bags - trunk: luggage with rigid frame, usu. too large to carry by hand, used for transporting clothes and personal items; enclosed storage compartment of car
• Body Parts and Accessories - trunk: enclosed storage compartment, usu. at rear
• Cases, Cupboards, and Chests - trunk: large storage box of wood or metal
• Luggage and Cases - trunk: large, sturdy, boxlike luggage or storage container
• Plants and Plant Parts - trunk: thick, primary stem of tree

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See words rhyming with "trunk."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Trunk.

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Common misspelling(s) of trunk

• turnk

Dansk (Danish)
n. - træstamme, krop, kuffert, hovedlinie, snabel
adj. - hovedvejs-

idioms:

• trunk call    udenbys opkald
• trunk line    hovedbane, hovedlinie, hovedledning

Nederlands (Dutch)
boomstam, romp, slurf, reiskoffer, kofferbak, zwembroek

Français (French)
n. - tronc, trompe (d'éléphant), malle, (US) coffre, conduite
adj. - d'une route principale/du chemin de fer

idioms:

• trunk call    communication à longue distance (arch)
• trunk line    (Télécom, Transp) ligne principale

Deutsch (German)
n. - Rumpf, Rüssel, Stamm, Schaft, Koffer, Kofferraum, Bade- od. Turnhosen
adj. - Haupt-, Fern-

idioms:

• trunk call    Ferngespräch
• trunk line    Hauptstrecke, Fernleitung

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - κορμός (δέντρου κ.λπ.), προβοσκίδα (ελέφαντα), μπαούλο, κιβώτιο, κασέλα, (ΗΠΑ) χώρος αποσκευών, πορτ-μπαγκάζ, (πληθ.) μαγιό αντρικό
attrib. - υπεραστικός

idioms:

• trunk call    υπεραστικό τηλεφώνημα
• trunk line    κύρια σιδηροδρομική γραμμή, ευθεία τηλεφωνική γραμμή

Italiano (Italian)
calzoncini, tronco, proboscide, baule, bagagliaio

idioms:

• trunk call    chiamata interurbana
• trunk line    linea

Português (Portuguese)
n. - tronco (m), tromba (f), mala grande (f), linha telefônica principal (f)
attrib. - entroncado (m)

idioms:

• trunk call    chamada da linha telefônica principal
• trunk line    linha telefônica principal

Русский (Russian)
ствол, туловище, сундук, (о слоне) хобот, (об автомобиле) багажник, трусы, плавки

idioms:

• trunk call    вызов по междугородному телефону
• trunk line    междугородная телефонная линия

Español (Spanish)
n. - traje de baño, bañador, torso, tórax, trompa, tronco, baúl, maletero
adj. - troncal, principal

idioms:

• trunk call    conferencia interurbana, llamada de larga distancia
• trunk line    línea interurbana, línea principal

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - (träd)stam, bål (kroppsdel), huvudlinje, huvuddel, huvudgren, koffert, trunk, bagageutrymme, bagagelucka i bil (am.), snabel (zool.), kran, snok (sl. näsa), ledning, trumma, schakt (tekn.)

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
干线, 躯干, 树干

idioms:

• trunk call    长途电话
• trunk line    干线, 长途电话线, 中继线

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 幹線, 軀幹, 樹幹

idioms:

• trunk call    長途電話
• trunk line    幹線, 長途電話線, 中繼線

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 줄기, 몸통, 중앙부분
adj. - 주요 도로의, 주요 철도의

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 幹, 胴体, 象の鼻, トランク, 幹線, 本流, 荷物入れ

idioms:

• bathing trunks    海水パンツ
• trunk call    長距離電話
• trunk line    本線, 供給幹線

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) صندوق ألسيارة, صندوق ألثياب, ساق, جذع‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮גזע, גופה, גו, עורק או עצב, גוף האדם (פרט לגפיים ולראש), מזוודת-נוסעים, תא-המטען, חדק-הפיל, חלל מעבר לכבלים, לאוויר ממוזג וכו'‬
adj. - ‮בין-עירוני‬

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