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truck

1. A small wheel, as of a vehicle; specifically, a small strong wheel, as of wood or iron, for a gun carriage.

2. A low, wheeled vehicle or barrow for carrying goods, stone, and other heavy articles. Goods were conveyed about the town almost exclusively in trucks drawn by dogs. (Macaulay)

3. (Science: machinery) A swiveling carriage, consisting of a frame with one or more pairs of wheels and the necessary boxes, springs, etc, to carry and guide one end of a locomotive or a car; sometimes called bogie in England. Trucks usually have four or six wheels.

4. A small wooden cap at the summit of a flagstaff or a masthead, having holes in it for reeving halyards through. A small piece of wood, usually cylindrical or disk-shaped, used for various purposes.

5. A freight car.

6. A frame on low wheels or rollers; used for various purposes, as for a movable support for heavy bodies. Truck, n. 1. Barter. 2. Commodidites for barter or fro small trade. 3. Asslociation, interaction, or connection, as in I'll have no truck with the likes of them. 4. Payment of wages in goods, rahther than casj. 5. Vegetable grown for market, as in truck farm. 6. Small articles of little value. [All from MW10. No comparable definitions in W1913!.

Origin: L. Trochus an iron hoop, Gr. A wheel, fr. To run. See Trochee, and cf. Truckle.