Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Trenchant

Trenchant , adjective

[Old French trenchant, French tranchant, p. pr. See Trench, transitive verb]

1.
Fitted to trench or cut; gutting; sharp.
Trenchant was the blade. — Chaucer
2.
Figuratively: Keen; biting; severe; as, trenchant wit.