'mortar board' definitions:
Definition of 'mortar board'
From: GCIDE
- 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]
Definition of 'mortar board'
From: GCIDE
- 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]