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thatch

[thach]
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noun
  1. Also thatching. a material, as straw, rushes, leaves, or the like, used to cover roofs, grain stacks, etc.
  2. a covering of such a material.
  3. the leaves of various palms that are used for thatching.
  4. something resembling thatch on a roof, especially thick hair covering the head: a thatch of unruly red hair.
  5. Horticulture. a tightly bound layer of dead grass, including leaves, stems, and roots, that builds up on the soil surface at the base of the living grass of a lawn.
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verb (used with object)
  1. to cover with or as if with thatch.
  2. Horticulture. to remove thatch from (a lawn); dethatch.
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Origin of thatch

before 900; (v.) Middle English thacchen, variant (with a from thak > dial. thack) of thecchen, Old English theccan to cover, hide; cognate with Dutch dekken (see deck), German decken, Old Norse thekja; (noun) Middle English thacche, variant (with ch from the v.) of thak
Related formsthatch·less, adjectivethatch·y, adjectivere·thatch, verb (used with object)

Thatch

[thach]
noun
  1. Edward. Teach, Edward.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for thatch

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • Always used of the gable loft, you know, and the wind above the thatch.

    The Manxman

    Hall Caine

  • Henry has often been on the thatch of the barn and never got hurt.

    The Fairchild Family

    Mary Martha Sherwood

  • I've seen them set fire to the thatch of the widow and childless.

    Romance

    Joseph Conrad and F.M. Hueffer

  • The same, the very same it is, save that the thatch has been renewed!

    St. Cuthbert's

    Robert E. Knowles

  • Thatch well sodden with winter's rain does not blaze or crackle.

    Two Sides of the Face

    Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch

British Dictionary definitions for thatch

thatch

noun
    1. Also called: thatchinga roofing material that consists of straw, reed, etc
    2. a roof made of such a material
  2. anything resembling this, such as the hair of the head
  3. Also called: thatch palm any of various palms with leaves suitable for thatching
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verb
  1. to cover (a roof) with thatch
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Derived Formsthatcher, nounthatchless, adjectivethatchy, adjective

Word Origin

Old English theccan to cover; related to thæc roof, Old Saxon thekkian to thatch, Old High German decchen, Old Norse thekja
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 thatch

v.

Old English þeccan "to cover," related to þæc "roof, thatching material," from Proto-Germanic *thakan (cf. Old Saxon thekkian, Old Norse þekja, Old Frisian thekka, Middle Dutch decken, Old High German decchen, German decken "to cover"), from PIE *(s)tog-/*(s)teg- "cover" (see stegosaurus).

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n.

Old English þæc "roof, thatch," from the source of thatch (v.). Cf. Old Norse þak, Old Frisian thek, Middle Dutch dak "roof," Old High German dah, German Dach "roof."

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper