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Added 9 October 2026

patch

/pæt͡ʃ/ noun

In Latin: sūtēla, pannus Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about patch at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A small contrasting part of something.
a bald spot
A small area of ground covered by specific vegetation.
a bean plot
A piece of cloth used as decoration or to mend or cover a hole.

verb

To join or unite the pieces of.
patch the skirt
Provide with a patch; also used metaphorically.
The field was patched with snow
Mend by putting a patch on.
patch a hole

Origin

From Middle English patche, of uncertain origin. Perhaps an alteration of earlier Middle English placche (“patch, spot, piece of cloth”), from Old English *plæċċ, *pleċċ (“a spot, mark, patch”), from Proto-West Germanic *plakkju, from Proto-Germanic *plakjō (“spot, stain”). For the loss of l compare pat from Middle English platten. Germanic cognates would then include Middle English plecke, dialectal English 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”).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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