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retch

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retch

  [rech]
Use retch in a Sentence
–verb (used without object)
1. to make efforts to vomit.
–verb (used with object)
2. to vomit.
–noun
3. the act or an instance of retching.
Origin:
1540–50; var. of reach, OE hrǣcan to clear the throat (not recorded in ME), deriv. of hrāca a clearing of the throat; cf. ON hrǣkja to hawk, spit
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To retch
retch   (rěch)   
v.   retched, retch·ing, retch·es

v.   intr.
To try to vomit.
v.   tr.
To vomit.

[Alteration of Middle English rechen, from Old English hrǣcan, to clear the throat, spit, bring up (phlegm).]
retch n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

retch 
1548, originally "to clear the throat, to cough up phlegm," from O.E. hræcan "to cough up, spit" (related to hraca "phlegm"), from P.Gmc. *khrækijanan (cf. O.H.G. rahhison "to clear one's throat"), of imitative origin (cf. Lith. kregeti "to grunt"). Meaning "to make efforts to vomit" is from 1850; sense of "to vomit" is first attested 1888.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: retch
Pronunciation: 'rech, esp Brit 'rEch
Function: intransitive verb
: to make an effort to vomit retch transitivesenses
: VOMIT —retch noun
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

retch (rěch)
v. retched, retch·ing, retch·es
To try to vomit.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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