Emily Dickinson Lexicon

TRUNK, n. [Fr. tronc; It. troncone; Sp. tronco; L. truncus, from trunco, to cut off. The primitive Celtic word of this family is in Fr. trancher, It. trinciare, Sp. trincar, trinchar. The n is not radical, for in Arm. the word is troucha, W. tryçu.]

1. The stem or body of a tree, severed from its roots. This is the proper sense of the word. But surprising as it may seem, It is used most improperly to signify the stem of a standing tree or vegetable, in general. Milton. Dryden.
2. The body of an animal without the limbs. Shak.
3. The main body of any thing; as, the trunk of a vein of an artery, as distinct from the branches.
4. The snout or proboscis of an elephant; the limb or instrument with which he feeds himself.
5. A slender, oblong, hollow body, joined to the fore part of the head of many insects, by means of which they suck the blood of animals or the juices of vegetables.
6. In architecture, the fust or shaft of a column.
7. A long tube through which pellets of clay are blown. Ray.
8. A box or chest covered with skin.
9. A water-course made of planks, and generally to conduct the water from the race to the water wheel. Fire-trunks, in fire ships, wooden funnels fixed under the shrouds to convey or lead the flames to the masts and rigging.