Crossword clues for parch
parch
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Parch \Parch\ (p[aum]rch), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Parched; p. pr. & vb. n. Parching.] [OE. perchen to pierce, hence used of a piercing heat or cold, OF. perchier, another form of percier, F. percer. See Pierce.]
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To burn the surface of; to scorch; to roast over the fire, as dry grain; as, to parch the skin; to parch corn.
Ye shall eat neither bread, nor parched corn.
--Lev. xxiii. 14. -
To dry to extremity; to shrivel with heat; as, the mouth is parched from fever.
The ground below is parched.
--Dryden.
Parch \Parch\, v. i.
To become scorched or superficially burnt; to be very dry.
``Parch in Afric sun.''
--Shak.
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
late 14c., "to roast or dry" (peas, beans, corn, etc.), of uncertain origin. Klein and OED reject derivations from Old North French perchier (Old French percer) "to pierce" and Latin persiccare "to dry thoroughly." Barnhart suggests possibly from Middle English perchen, variant of perishen "to perish" (see perish). Klein "tentatively" suggests a back-formation from parchment. Surname Parchecorn is attested from mid-14c. Meaning "to dry with excessive heat" is mid-15c. Related: Parched; parching.
Wiktionary
n. The condition of being parched. vb. 1 (context transitive English) To burn the surface of, to scorch. 2 (context transitive English) To roast, as dry grain. 3 (context transitive English) To dry to extremity; to shrivel with heat. 4 (context transitive colloquial English) To make thirsty. 5 (context transitive archaic English) To boil something slowly (''Still used in Lancashire in http://en.wikipedi
org/wiki/Black%20peas, a type of mushy peas''). 6 (context intransitive English) To become superficially burnt; be become sunburned.
WordNet
v. cause to wither or parch from exposure to heat; "The sun parched the earth" [syn: sear]
Usage examples of "parch".
The apparently innocent and artless young girl possessed the parched, hollow soul of an experienced woman of the world, or of an old courtier.
If there is febrile excitement, a hard pulse, frequent and throbbing, and if there is headache, thirst, parched lips, hot and dry skin, as is sometimes the case, then menorrhagia is due to an augmented action of the heart and arteries, and the indication of treatment is to diminish vascular action.
If I had been feeling morbid, my watch, continuously updated by a weather station on top of Centre Point, could have told me the precise levels of ozone, nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide parching my lungs.
Frank Parcher, the scout, a short, lean man about forty years old, was another misfit.
Sarah Blanchet stumbled from the bushes when she was sure Parcher was gone.
She wanted to find the strength to walk out into the circle and reveal what Frank Parcher had done to her.
Had Parcher made one move toward his gun, he would have been dead before he hit the ground.
He rode up beside it and his horse had to keep pace on its own, because Parcher could do nothing but stare at the woman on the wagon seat.
Frank Parcher and at one time thought he was going to have to draw and kill the polecat.
Lucas had no doubt that Frank Parcher was one of those men who carried all his brains between his legs, and that sooner or later he might have to kill him.
Buck Garrett and his own scout had already brought back this information, along with the report that Parcher was pushing the wagons beyond reason, resulting in the breakdowns.
Her husband turned a furious face in her direction, but before he could say anything Frank Parcher appeared from behind the wagon.
She knew that if Lucas or Buck or anyone else began to act in the least bit suspiciously or tried to call Parcher out, Frank would follow up on his threats.
At first Tucker had tried to discourage Laura from taking these nightly jaunts, because she feared Frank Parcher might threaten or harm her in the way of a warning to Tucker.
As Tucker passed the Collins wagon, she looked over and saw Frank Parcher lounging against the side of it.