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ketch

[kech]
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noun Nautical.
  1. a sailing vessel rigged fore and aft on two masts, the larger, forward one being the mainmast and the after one, stepped forward of the rudderpost, being the mizzen or jigger.
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Compare yawl1(def 2).See also schooner(def 1), topsail schooner.

Origin of ketch

1475–85; earlier cache, apparently noun use of cache to catch
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for ketch

Historical Examples

  • The most difficult part of the business had been old Ketch; but that was managed.

    The Channings

    Mrs. Henry Wood

  • This was one of them, and Ketch anticipated a glorious treat.

    The Channings

    Mrs. Henry Wood

  • Once more we must pay a visit to Mr. Ketch in his lodge, at his supper hour.

    The Channings

    Mrs. Henry Wood

  • But to pummel was one thing, and to arouse Mr. Ketch was another.

    The Channings

    Mrs. Henry Wood

  • Hold your tongue, old Ketch, or I'll call Mr. Harper down to you.

    The Channings

    Mrs. Henry Wood

British Dictionary definitions for ketch

ketch

noun
  1. a two-masted sailing vessel, fore-and-aft rigged, with a tall mainmast and a mizzen stepped forward of the rudderpostCompare yawl 1 (def. 1)
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Word Origin

C15 cache, probably from cacchen to hunt; see catch
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for ketch

n.

kind of small sailing vessel, 1650s, earlier catch (mid-15c.), cache (late 14c.), probably from Middle English cacchen "to capture, ensnare, chase" (see catch). Cf. the sense development in yacht.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper