trepanning

1. gerundparticiplepresentpresent participle and gerund of trepan

plural trepannings

1. countableuncountableThe act of one who trepans.

   "I believe in the good old British public. Slow and stupid, but sound at the core. They will not stand for injustice if you can get the truth into their heads." "They damned well need trepanning before you can get it there," said the solicitor.

   1925 July – 1926 May, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “(please specify the chapter number)”, in The Land of Mist (eBook no. 0601351h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg Australia, published April 2019

   1 more example

   Ms. Feilding, who was known as Lady Mindbender and the Crackpot Countess, once drilled a tiny hole in her skull to increase blood flow, a medieval practice called trepanning. […] Eager to stretch the boundaries of her mind further, Ms. Feilding became obsessed with trepanning, believing that puncturing the skull relieved pressure and increased blood flow, perhaps creating a permanent high.

   2025 June 12, Michael S. Rosenwald, “Amanda Feilding, Eccentric Countess Who Backed Psychedelic Meds, Dies at 82”, in The New York Times, →ISSN

   Synonyms: trepanation, trephination, trephining