1. The main stem or body of a tree, considered apart from its roots and branches.
2. The main part of the body of a human or animal not including the head, legs, and arms.

"The trunk is the central part of the body, consisting of the chest and abdomen, to which the head, the arms, and the legs are connected."

3. The thorax of an insect: "That part of an insect’s body to which its legs and wings are connected."
4. The main stem of a blood vessel excluding the branches: "In this case, the trunk is a large blood vessel or a nerve from which smaller vessels or nerves branch off or divide into smaller structures."
5. A compartment in an automobile that carries luggage, shopping goods, tools, etc.: "Before going on her trip, Kassandra loaded up the trunk of her antique car with hand bags." 6. Etymology: From 1462, "a box, a case," from Old French tronc "alms box in a church", also "trunk of a tree, trunk of the human body", from Latin truncus; originally, "mutilated, cut off". The meaning "box, case" is likely to be from the notion of the body as the "case" of the organs.

Engish acquired the other two senses of the Old French word later; the sense of "main stem of a tree" dates from 1490; that of "torso of a human body" from 1494.

The reference to an elephant's snout is from 1565, probably from confusion with trump (short for trumpet). Railroad trunk line is attested from 1843; the telephone version is from 1889; a telephone line or channel between two central offices or switching devices that is used in providing telephone connections between subscribers generally.

A list of synonyms for trunk

1. Trunk, tree trunk, bole, stalk, stem; usage: the main stem of a tree; usually covered with bark; the bole is usually the part of the tree that is commercially useful for lumber.
2. Trunk, baggage, luggage; usage: luggage consisting of a large strong case used when traveling or for storage.
3. Torso, trunk, body, body part; usage: the body excluding the head and neck and limbs.
4. Luggage compartment, automobile trunk, trunk, compartment; usage: compartment in an automobile that carries luggage or shopping or tools; such as, "He put his tools in the trunk of his car."
5. Proboscis, trunk, snout, neb; usage: a long flexible snout; such as, of an elephant.

1. Shorts worn for swimming, for other athletics, or for general wear in the summer or where ever a person wants to wear them.
2. Cut-off pants.

An anatomical part of the body that comes up from the abdominal aorta or main artery which carries blood from the heart to other parts of the body: "Most of the blood supply for the liver, stomach, spleen, gallbladder, pancreas, and duodenum comes from this celiac trunk."

The main part of the fourth and all of he fifth lumbar spinal nerves: "These nerves of the lumbosacral trunk accompany part of the first, second, and third sacral nerves to form the sciatic nerve."

The great vessel that comes up from the right ventricle of the heart: "The pulmonary trunk branches to the right and to the left pulmonary arteries of the lungs."