2. Figuratively: A vice; a taint; an evil.
[1913 Webster]
To pick the vicious quitch Of blood and custom wholly out of him. --Tennyson. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.
quitch — kwich n QUACK GRASS called also quitch grass … Medical dictionary
quitch — [kwich] n. [OE cwice < base of cwicu, alive (see QUICK): prob. after the great vitality of the plant] COUCH GRASS … English World dictionary
quitch — /kwich/, n. See couch grass. Also, quitch grass. [bef. 900; late ME quich, OE cwice; c. D kweek, Norw kvike; akin to QUICK (adj.)] * * * … Universalium
quitch — [[t]kwɪtʃ[/t]] n. pln couch grass Also called quitch′ grass . Etymology: bef. 900; late ME quich, OE cwice; c. D kweek, Norw kvike; akin to quick (adj.) … From formal English to slang
quitch — n. (in full quitch grass) = COUCH(2). Etymology: OE cwice, perh. rel. to QUICK … Useful english dictionary
Quitch grass — (kw[i^]ch gr[.a]s ). [Properly quick grass, being probably so called from its vigorous growth, or from its tenacity of life. See {Quick}, and cf. {Couch grass}.] (Bot.) A perennial grass ({Agropyrum repens}) having long running rootstalks, by… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
quitch grass — I. noun see couch grass II. noun see quitch * * * quitch «kwihch», noun, or quitch grass, couch grass, a kind of spreading grass that is a common weed in gardens. ╂[Old English cwice, related to cwic quick. Compare etym. und … Useful english dictionary
quitch — noun Etymology: Middle English *quicche, from Old English cwice; akin to Old High German quecca couch grass Date: before 12th century quack grass … New Collegiate Dictionary
quitch — 1. verb /kwɪtʃ/ To flinch; shrink. 2. noun /kwɪtʃ/ A species of grass, often considered as a weed … Wiktionary
quitch — noun another term for couch2. Origin OE cwice, of uncertain origin; perh. related to quick (with ref. to its vigorous growth) … English new terms dictionary
