I. ˈtrəŋˌkāt, usu -ād.+V transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Latin truncatus, past participle of truncare to cut off, mutilate, from truncus trunk, torso; probably akin to Welsh trwch broken, truncated, Lithuanian trenkti to push violently, jolt and perhaps to Old English thringan to crowd, throng — more at throng
1. : to abbreviate by or as if by cutting off : lop
lower ends of the ridges … are truncated by glacial erosion — W.J.Miller
truncate the value of pi from eight decimal places to 3.14
truncate a news item to fit available space
games … abruptly truncated by the arrival of the evening papers — H.G.Wells
2. : to replace (as an edge or corner of a crystal) by a plane and especially by a plane that is equally inclined to the adjoining faces
II. adjective
Etymology: Latin truncatus, past participle of truncare
1. : having the end square or even as if cut off
a truncate leaf
a truncate feather
2. : lacking an apex — used of a spiral (as of a gastropod mollusk) shell in which the apex of the young shell breaks off naturally