roach
UK /ɹəʊtʃ/ · US /ɹoʊt͡ʃ/ noun, verb, proper noun
Forms roaches roaching roached Roachs
- noun Any fish of species in the genus Rutilus, especially:
- noun A common roach (Rutilus rutilus).
- noun Any member of the genus Hesperoleucus of California roaches.
- noun (US) Synonym of cockroach (“type of insect”).
- noun (slang, derogatory) Synonym of cockroach (“as a term of abuse”).
- noun (US, slang, smoking) The butt of a marijuana cigarette.
- noun (US, slang, smoking) An entire marijuana cigarette, blunt, or joint.
- noun (UK, slang, smoking) The filter of a rolled cigarette or joint, made from card or paper (often of the cigarette paper packet itself).
- verb Synonym of roach out.
- noun (nautical) Sail material that forms a concave curve rather than straight leech (aft edge) of a sail to increase the sail area over that of a simple triangular sail.
- noun A haircut or a similar-looking kind of headdress worn by some of the indigenous peoples of North America, often red.
- verb (transitive) To cut or shave off the mane of a horse so that the remaining hair stands up on the neck.
- verb (transitive, by extension) To cut a person's hair so that it stands straight up.
- noun (UK, obsolete, mining) A bed or stratum of some mineral.
- noun (UK, regional) Gritty or coarse rock; especially Portland stone or similar limestone.
- proper noun A surname from Anglo-Norman [in turn from Norman, in turn from Old French]
- proper noun A surname from placenames
- proper noun A river in Essex, England, which is a stream before becoming a tidal river and joining the River Crouch; in full, the River Roach.
- proper noun A short river in Piscataquis County, Maine, which flows into Moosehead Lake.
- proper noun A short river in Virginia, a tributary of the Rivanna River.
Synonyms
cockroach roach out R-2 Mexican valium rophy rope roofy forget me drug circle Rutilus rutilus
Etymology
From Middle English roche, from Old French roche, from Middle Low German roche, ruche (“ray (fish)”), from Old Saxon *rūh, possibly from Proto-Germanic *rūhaz (“rough”).
Cognate with Old English ruhha ("a ray"; > Middle English rouhe, rohȝe), German Rochen (“ray (fish)”).
Back-formation from cockroach, as if it were a compound.
Marijuana-related meanings by similarity of appearance of the butt, attested since the 1930s.
Apparently from extended or figurative use of roach (“Cyprinidae”), above. Compare the adjective roached (“styled so that the mane stands up from the neck”).
Variant of roche (“rock”). Attested since the seventeenth century.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A cockroach.
- noun (a) A European fresh-water fish of the Carp family (Leuciscus rutilus). It is silver-white, with a greenish back.
- noun A convex curve or arch cut in the edge of a sail to prevent chafing, or to secure a better fit. As sound as a roach Etym: [roach perhaps being a corruption of a F. roche a rock], perfectly sound.
- verb To cause to arch.
Etymology [OE. rroche; cf. AS. reohha, D. rog, roch, G. roche, LG. ruche, Dan. rokke ray, Sw. rocka, and E. ray a fish.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “roach”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details