0 a black hat with a square, flat top, worn on formal occasions by some teachers and students at college or university, and in the past by some school teachers
The mortarboard may also be referred to as a trencher cap (or simply trencher).
At the completion of a meal the trencher could then be eaten, given to the poor, or fed to the dogs.
At the end of the meal, the trencher could be eaten with sauce, but was more frequently given as alms to the poor.
A trencher is fetched, placed on the floor of the hall, and filled with meat.
After a meal, the food-soaked trencher was fed to a dog or to beggars at the tables of the wealthy, and eaten by diners in more modest circumstances.
Black silk velvet trencher, with gold button and tassel.
No trencher is worn for non-degree graduates.
By 1948, he had constructed and restored more than ten temples using trenchers to rapidly dig the foundation.