Trenches

How to spell trenches

8 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce trenches

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does trenches mean?

1. nounLong, narrow channels dug into the ground, especially for drainage, construction, or military defence.

Trenches in a sentence

• The workers dug deep trenches to lay the new water pipes.

• Soldiers sheltered in muddy trenches along the front line.

Where does trenches come from?

Language of origin: French

This word descends from the Old French noun trenche, meaning 'a slice' or 'a cutting', which came from the verb trenchier, 'to cut'. The deeper source is thought to be the Latin truncare, meaning 'to cut off' or 'to lop', the same root that gives English 'truncate' and 'trunk'. English borrowed it in the 1300s, first for any long ditch carved into the ground, then for a defensive military ditch dug by soldiers. By the time of the First World War the plural 'trenches' had become almost a byword for that style of warfare. The link to cutting still helps the spelling: the word keeps the soft 'ch' of the French original, and you simply add -es because trench ends in a hissing sound.

How the word is built

• trench (from Old French trenchier: to cut)
• -es (plural suffix)