Etymology

trepan

tre·pan
T1R1E1P3A1N1

Today it means: A tool used to bore through rock when sinking shafts. Full definition →

Old French trepan ← Latin trepanum ← Ancient Greek τρύπανον
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trepan · noun, verb1

  1. Ancient Greek · derived fromτρύπανον“auger, borer”
  2. Latin · derived fromtrepanum
  3. Old French · derived fromtrepan
  4. English todaytrepan

Borrowed into Middle English from Old French trepan, from Latin trepanum, from Ancient Greek τρύπανον (trúpanon, “auger, borer”). Doublet of trephine.

trepan · noun, verb2

See trapan.

Words from the same roots

Latintrepanum all →

trephine

Ancient Greekτρύπανον all →

trephine

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.