Emily Dickinson Lexicon

PUNCH'EON, n. [Fr. poinçon, a bodkin, a puncheon.]

1. A small piece of steel, on the end of which is engraved a figure or letter, creux or relievo, with which impressions are stamped on metal or other substance; used in coinage, in forming the matrices of types, and in various arts. – Encyc.
2. In carpentry, a piece of timber placed upright between two posts, whose hearing is too great; also, a piece of timber set upright under the ridge of a building, wherein the legs of a couple, &c. are jointed. – Encyc.
3. A measure of liquids, or a cask containing usually 120 gallons. Rum or spirits is imported from the West Indies in puncheons, but these are often called also hogsheads.