Parch

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /pɑːtʃ/Rhymes: -ɑː(r)tʃ

Origin

Origin unknown.

Full definition of parch

Verb

1. (transitive) To burn the surface of, to scorch.The sun today could parch cement.
2. (transitive) To roast, as dry grain.
• Bible, Leviticus xxiii. 14Ye shall eat neither bread, nor parched corn.
3. (transitive) To dry to extremity; to shrivel with heat.The patient's mouth is parched from fever.
4. (transitive, colloquial) To make thirsty.We're parched, hon. Could you send up an ale from the cooler?
5. (transitive, archaic) To boil something slowly (Still used in Lancashire in Black peas, a type of mushy peas).
6. (intransitive) To become superficially burnt; be become sunburned.The locals watched, amused, as the tourists parched in the sun, having neglected to apply sunscreen or bring water.

Noun

1. The condition of being parched.
• 1982, TC Boyle, Water Music, Penguin 2006, p. 64:Yet here he is, not at the head, but somewhere toward the rear of the serpentine queue wending its way through all this parch ….----