I. ˈtrēˌfīn; trə̇ˈfīn, -ˈfēn noun
( -s )
Etymology: French tréphine, from obsolete English trefine, trafine, from Latin tres fines three ends, from tres three + fines, plural of finis end — more at three , final
1. : a surgical instrument for cutting out circular sections (as of bone or corneal tissue)
2. : trephination
II. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
intransitive verb
: to perform a trephination
transitive verb
: to operate on with or extract by means of a trephine
two young men whose skulls had been trephined because of head injury — R.S.Woodworth
a graft trephined from a fresh cadaver eye — Yrbk. of the Eye, Ear, Nose & Throat