vetch

[ vech ]

/ vɛtʃ /

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noun

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.

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

the beanlike seed or fruit of any such plant.

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Origin of vetch

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

Vesuvian, vesuvianite, vesuvianite jade, Vesuvius, vet, vetch, vetchling, veter., veteran, veteran car, Veterans Administration

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use vetch in a sentence

Next, Fieber-Beyer will try growing hairy vetch seeds in that faux asteroid dirt, let the plants decay and then mix the dead plant matter throughout the soil.
Astronauts might be able to use asteroid soil to grow crops|Liz Kruesi|July 29, 2022|Science News
"But just look at me for a moment, pet, as you go by," cried the purple vetch by the hedge.
Wood Magic|Richard Jefferies
The other name for the Vetch is Tares, which is, no doubt, an old English word that has never been satisfactorily explained.
The plant-lore and garden-craft of Shakespeare|Henry Nicholson Ellacombe
Think of the divine old man growing a sort of vetch in his garden to cram his pockets with for the deer in Kensington Garden.
The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 16, No. 97, November, 1865|Various

Then, glancing toward the door, she asked breathlessly, "Didn't Gideon Vetch come with you?"
One Man in His Time|Ellen Glasgow
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

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

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

the beanlike fruit of any of these plants

Word Origin for vetch

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