the.com/trunk
the storage space that doubles as a hiding spot, a getaway, or a crime scene.
means The rear storage compartment of a car, or more broadly a large sturdy box for carrying or storing things — also the main woody stem of a tree, an elephant's nose, and the human torso.
from From the Latin 'truncus,' meaning the main stem of a tree or a body shorn of its limbs — the same root that gives us 'truncate.' That core idea of a solid central mass branched out wildly: the tree's trunk, the body's trunk, the big wooden chest 'trunk' (originally made from hollowed tree trunks), and the elephant's trunk (from its trunk-like thickness). The American car-trunk sense — where the British say 'boot' — kept the storage-box meaning rolling into the automobile age.
- elephant origin
- Word once meant elephant's nose, then luggage, then car
- smart latches
- Modern trunks have glow-in-dark interior escape handles by law
- tree version
- A tree's trunk can move water 100 feet upward daily
- swimwear too
- Swim trunks borrowed the name from storage chests
elephant trunk — 40,000+ muscles allowing african elephants to lift 770 pounds
tree trunk — coast redwoods in california reach 379 feet tall with trunks 31 feet wide
car trunk — standard feature in automobiles since early 1900s for cargo storage
steamer trunk — travel luggage popular 1880s-1920s, still collectible as vintage furniture