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
Main Entry: retch Pronunciation: 'rech, esp Brit 'rEch Function: intransitive verb : to make an effort to vomit retchtransitivesenses :VOMIT —retchnoun