• Patch

    Pronunciation

    • IPA: /pætʃ/
    • Rhymes: -ætʃ

    Origin 1

    From Middle English patche, pacche, of uncertain origin. Perhaps an alteration of earlier Middle English placche ("patch, spot, piece of cloth") (for loss of l, compare pat from plat, fag from flag, etc.), probably from Old English *plæċ, *plecc ("a spot, mark, patch"), from Proto-Germanic *plakjō ("spot, stain"), related to Middle English plecke (>

    English dialectal pleck ("plot of ground, patch")), West Frisian plak ("place, spot"), Low German Plakk, Plakke ("spot, piece, patch"), Dutch plek ("spot, place, stain, patch"), Dutch plak ("piece, slab"), Swedish plagg ("garment"), Faroese plagg ("cloth, rag").

    Alternatively, perhaps a variant of Middle English pece ("piece"), from Old French pieche ("piece"), from Vulgar Latin *pettia, probably from Gaulish pettsi ("piece, bit"). Compare also Old Provencal petaç ("patch").

    Noun

    patch

    (plural patches)
    1. A piece of cloth, or other suitable material, sewed or otherwise fixed upon a garment to repair or strengthen it, especially upon an old garment to cover a hole.His sleeves had patches on the elbows where different fabric had been sewn on to replace material that had worn away.
    2. A small piece of anything used to repair damage or a breach; as, a patch on a kettle, a roof, etc.I can't afford to replace the roof, which is what it really needs. I'll have the roofer apply a patch.
    3. A repair intended to be used for a limited time; (differs from previous usage in that it is intended to be a temporary fix and the size of the repair is irrelevant).
      This usage can mean that the repair is temporary because it is an early but necessary step in the process of properly, completely repairing something,Before you can fix a dam, you have to apply a patch to the hole so that everything can dry off.
    or that it is temporary because it is not meant to last long or will be removed as soon as a proper repair can be made, which will happen in the near future.
    1. "This patch should hold until you reach the city," the mechanic said as he patted the car's hood.
    2. A small, usually contrasting but always somehow different or distinct, part of something else (location, time, size);The world economy had a rough patch in the 1930s.The storms last summer washed away parts of the road so we can expect some rough patches up ahead.To me, a normal cow is white with black patches, but Sarah's from Texas and most of the cows there have solid brown, black, or red coats.Doesn't that patch of clouds looks like a bunny?I lost my locket in this patch of grass here.When ice skating, be sure to stay away from reeds, there's always thin patches of ice there and you could fall through.I never get first place because on track eight, right after you pass the windmill, there's a patch of oil in the road that always gets me.
    3. A small piece of black silk stuck on the face or neck to heighten beauty; an imitation beauty mark.
      • Beaumont and FletcherYour black patches you wear variously.
    4. (medicine) A piece of material used to cover a wound.
    5. (medicine) An adhesive piece of material, impregnated with a drug, which is worn on the skin; the drug being slowly absorbed over a period of time.Many people use a nicotine patch to wean themselves off of nicotine.
    6. (medicine) A cover worn over a damaged eye, an eyepatch.He had scratched his cornea so badly that his doctor told him to wear a patch.
    7. A block on the muzzle of a gun, to do away with the effect of dispart, in sighting.
    8. (computing) A patch file, a file used for input to a patch program or that describes changes made to a computer file or files, usually changes made to a computer program that fix a programming bug.
    9. A small piece of material that is manually passed through a gun barrel to clean it.
    10. A piece of greased cloth or leather used as wrapping for a rifle ball, to make it fit the bore.
    11. (often patch cable, patch cord, etc.; see also patch panel) A cable connecting two pieces of electrical equipment.
    12. A sound setting for a musical synthesizer (originally selected by means of a patch cable).

    Synonyms

    Derived terms

    Full definition of patch

    Verb

    1. To mend by sewing on a piece or pieces of cloth, leather, or the like; as, to patch a coat.
      • 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, Mr. Pratt's Patients Chapter 8, That concertina was a wonder in its way. The handles that was on it first was wore out long ago, and he'd made new ones of braided rope yarn. And the bellows was patched in more places than a cranberry picker's overalls.
    2. To mend with pieces; to repair by fastening pieces on.
    3. To make out of pieces or patches, like a quilt.
      I'll need to patch the preamp output to the mixer.
    4. To join or unite the pieces of; to patch the skirt.
    5. A temporary, removable electronic connection, as one between two components in a communications system.
    6. To repair or arrange in a hasty or clumsy manner; – generally with up; as, to patch up a truce.
    7. (computing) To make the changes a patch describes; to apply a patch to the files in question. Hence:
      1. To fix or improve a computer program without a complete upgrade.
      2. To make a quick and possibly temporary change to a program.
    8. To connect two pieces of electrical equipment using a cable.

    Synonyms

    Origin 2

    Noun

    patch

    (plural patches)
    1. (archaic) A paltry fellow; a rogue; a ninny; a fool.

    Anagrams

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