trencher
plate
originally a thick slice of bread, used as a primitive form of plate for eating and for slicing meat (hence its derivation from “trancher”—to cut, or carve), but by the 14th century a square or circular wooden plate of rough workmanship. There was usually a small cavity for salt in the rim of the wooden plate, and sometimes the main section was so formed that it could be turned over and the other side used for a second course.By the beginning of the 17th century trenchers were being replaced, first by pewter ware, then by earthenware and porcelain, though the word was still used occasionally to refer to cheap plates not made of wood. It still survives in phrases such as “trencherman,” describing a hearty eater.
- John Boyd Orr Boyd-Orr of Brechin Mearns, Baron
- John Bradshaw
- John Braine
- John Brand
- John Breckinridge
- John Bright
- John Broadwood
- John Brougham
- John Brown
- John Brown Gordon
- John Bruton
- John Brydges, 1st Baron Chandos
- John Brydges Chandos, 1st Baron
- John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir
- John Buchanan Floyd
- John Bull
- John Bull
- John Bunyan
- John Burgoyne
- John Burroughs
- John B. Watson
- John By
- John Byng
- John Byrom
- John Byron