vetch

[ vech ]

noun
  1. any of several mostly climbing plants belonging to the genus Vicia, of the legume family, having pinnate leaves ending in tendrils and bearing pealike flowers, especially V. sativa(spring vetch ), cultivated for forage and soil improvement.

  2. any of various allied plants, as Lathyrus sativus, of Europe, cultivated for their edible seeds and for forage.

  1. the beanlike seed or fruit of any such plant.

Origin of vetch

1
1325–75; Middle English ve(c)che<Anglo-French; Old French vecce (French vesce) <Latin vicia

Other words from vetch

  • vetchlike, adjective

Words Nearby vetch

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use vetch in a sentence

  • It never ceased, this piteous sobbing, until at last the doctor went out, and left Corinna alone with the girl and Gideon vetch.

    One Man in His Time | Ellen Glasgow

British Dictionary definitions for vetch

vetch

/ (vɛtʃ) /


noun
  1. any of various climbing leguminous plants of the temperate genus Vicia, esp V. sativa, having pinnate leaves, typically blue or purple flowers, and tendrils on the stems

  2. any of various similar and related plants, such as Lathyrus sativus, cultivated in parts of Europe, and the kidney vetch

  1. the beanlike fruit of any of these plants

Origin of vetch

1
C14: fecche, from Old French veche, from Latin vicia

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