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roach

[rohch]

Origin

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noun

a cockroach.

Slang. the butt of a marijuana cigarette.

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Origin:
1830–40, Americanism; 1940–45, Americanism for def. 2; short form of cockroach

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Roach is always a great word to know.

So is crunchy-granola. Does it mean:

inferior or cheap, chintzy

characterized by or defining oneself by ecological awareness, liberal political views, and support or use of natural products and health foods

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Dictionary.com Unabridged

noun, plural roach·es, (especially collectively) roach.

a European freshwater fish, Rutilus rutilus, of the carp family.

any of various similar fishes, as the golden shiner.

a freshwater sunfish of the genus Lepomis, found in eastern North America.

Origin:
1275–1325; Middle English roche < Old French < ?

noun

Nautical.

the upward curve at the foot of a square sail.

(loosely) a convexity given to any of the edges of a sail; round.

hair combed up from the forehead or temples in a roll or high curve.

verb (used with object)

to clip or cut off (the mane of a horse); hog.

to comb (hair) into a roach.

Origin:
1785–95; origin uncertain

noun

Maxwell (“Max”), born 1924, U.S. jazz drummer and bandleader.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To Roach

Collins

World English Dictionary

roach¹ (rəʊtʃ)

—n , pl roaches, roach
1.	a European freshwater cyprinid food fish, Rutilus rutilus, having a deep compressed body and reddish ventral and tail fins
2.	any of various similar fishes

[C14: from Old French roche, of obscure origin]

roach² (rəʊtʃ)

—n
1.	short for cockroach
2.	slang the butt of a cannabis cigarette

roach³ (rəʊtʃ)

—n
1.	the amount by which the leech of a fore-and-aft sail projects beyond an imaginary straight line between the clew and the head
2.	the curve at the foot of a square sail

[C18: of unknown origin]

Roach (rəʊtʃ)

—n
	Hal, full name Harald Eugene Roach. 1892--1992, US film producer, whose company produced numerous comedy films in the 1920s and 1930s, including those featuring Harold Lloyd and Laurel and Hardy

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

roach

1837, shortened form of cockroach (q.v.), in contemporary writing said to be from a polite desire to avoid the sexual connotation in the first syllable; meaning "butt of a marijuana cigarette" is first recorded 1938, perhaps from resemblance to the insect, but perhaps a different word entirely.

EXPAND

roach

"small freshwater fish," early 14c., from O.Fr. roche (13c.), perhaps from a Germanic source.

COLLAPSE

Slang Dictionary

roach definition

n.
a police officer. (Derogatory. From cockroach.) : A roach caught him while he was at work.
n.
the butt end of a marijuana cigarette. (Drugs.) : The cops found a roach on the bathroom floor.
n.
an ugly girl or woman. (Derogatory. From cockroach.) : Who was that roach you were with last night?

Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source

FOLDOC

Computing Dictionary

roach definition

jargon
A Bell Labs term meaning destroy, especially of a data structure. Hardware gets toasted or fried, software gets roached.
[Why?]
[Jargon File]
(1999-02-08)

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Related Words

roach back cockroach

oriental cockroach roach clip

Slang

roach clip roach pick

roach pick

Images for Roach

Matching Quote

"In the night I dreamed of trout-fishing; and, when at length I awoke, it seemed a fable that this painted fish swam there so near my couch, and rose to our hooks the last evening, and I doubted if I had not dreamed it all. So I arose before dawn to test its truth, while my companions were still sleeping. There stood Ktaadn with distinct and cloudless outline in the moonlight; and the rippling of the rapids was the only sound to break the stillness. Standing on the shore, I once more cast my line into the stream, and found the dream to be real and the fable true. The speckled trout and silvery roach, like flying-fish, sped swiftly through the moonlight air, describing bright arcs on the dark side of Ktaadn, until moonlight, now fading into daylight, brought satiety to my mind, and the minds of my companions, who had joined me."

-Henry David Thoreau

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