Definition of "trencher"

trencher

/ˈtɹɛnt͡ʃə(ɹ)/

noun
plural trenchers
1. (archaic or historical) A plate on which food is served or cut.
  Quotations
  No more dams I'll make for fish;Nor fetch in firingAt requiring,Nor scrape trenchering, nor wash dish;'Ban 'Ban, Ca—Caliban,Has a new master—Get a new man.
  1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, [Act II, scene ii]
  Mrs Partridge, upon this, immediately fell into a fury, and discharged the trencher on which she was eating, at the head of poor Jenny […]
  1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volumes (please specify |volume=I to VI), London: A[ndrew] Millar, […]
2. One who trenches; especially, one who cuts or digs ditches.
3. A machine for digging trenches.