▪ I. † ˈtrunking, vbl. n.1 Obs.
[f. trunk v.1 + -ing1.]
The action of trunk v.1; truncation.
| 1611 Cotgr., Troncation, a truncation, trunking, mutilation, cutting off. |
▪ II. ˈtrunking, vbl. n.2
[f. trunk v.2 + -ing1.]
1. The action of trunk v.2: a. in sense 2; also attrib.
| 1838 Civil Eng. & Arch. Jrnl. I. 409/2 The engine was working..a trunking machine. 1839 H. T. De la Beche Rep. Geol. Cornw., etc. xv. 579 The trunking by machinery..was introduced at St. Ives, according to Mr. Henwood, about the year 1825. 1839 Ure Dict. Arts 1245 The portion B is to be washed again in the trunking-box. 1881 Raymond Mining Gloss., Trunking (Cornw.), separating slimes by means of a trunk. 1884 C. G. W. Lock Workshop Receipts Ser. iii. 53/1 A revolving ‘trunking’ apparatus. |
b. in sense 3. Also concr., spec. a system of ducts or trunks (sense 10), esp. for cables or purposes of ventilation.
| 1838 Civil Eng. & Arch. Jrnl. I. 383/2 Perfect drainage and good trunking,..if these are not attained, roads constructed on bog will lose their shape, become ruinous, and soon go to decay. Ibid., Upon this trunking is to be laid a soling. 1883 Science II. 99/1 A ‘trunking’ or wooden covering is then placed over them to protect them from snow and the feet of any one walking about the yard. 1923 Man. Seamanship (Admiralty) II. 284 The quantity of air supplied by a fan depends greatly on..the size and tortuosity of the trunking. 1950 Engineering 3 Feb. 123/1 Forced draught fans..arranged to draw air..and discharge it to the boilers through suitable trunking. 1963 Times 11 May 8/1, 60 electricians were dismissed for refusing to work on the trunking of electric cables on the frigate Mohawk. 1977 Timber Trades Jrnl. 17 Dec. 36/2 To blow the by-products from the hopper into a storage silo via trunking is..becoming a more common practice. |
c. The driving of lorries on long journeys along trunk roads.
| 1968 P. G. Hollowell Lorry Driver iii. 64 Trunking, being a night driving job, is heavy on the eyes, and also requires quick response to meet crises particularly on runs where the schedules are tight. 1974 P. Wright Lang. Brit. Industry ii. 31 Trunking used to mean only night driving, but now, because of improved roads and speeds enabling travel to and from a far unloading point in one day, it includes day-trunking. |
2. Teleph. [f. trunk n.] The use or arrangement of trunks (sense 4 c). Freq. attrib.
| 1896 Jrnl. Inst. Electr. Engineers XXV. 639 Facilities for through trunking—i.e., connecting two or more trunk circuits at intermediate offices to provide communication between towns not directly connected. 1933 Discovery Apr. 132/2 When all the direct junctions to an exchange are engaged, subsequent calls to that exchange are passed (or ‘routed’) through a central exchange. This feature of the system is termed ‘alternative trunking’. 1947 Electronic Engin. XIX. 66 Automatic telephony is dealt with almost entirely by means of trunking diagrams and trunking calculations. 1979 Danielson & Walker Telecommunications Systems for Technicians I ix. 79 A trunking diagram showing the connection of a subscriber to a desired number in a four-digit (up to 9999) exchange. |