roach

roach · noun¹

1. Proto-Germanic · derived from*rūhaz“rough”
2. Old Saxon · derived from*rūh
3. Middle Low German · derived fromroche, ruche“ray (fish)”
4. Old French · derived fromroche
5. Middle English · inherited fromroche
6. English todayroach

From Middle English roche, from Old French roche, from Middle Low German roche, ruche (“ray (fish)”), from Old Saxon *rūh, possibly from Proto-Germanic *rūhaz (“rough”). Cognate with Old English ruhha ("a ray"; > Middle English rouhe, rohȝe), German Rochen (“ray (fish)”).

roach · noun, verb²

Back-formation from cockroach, as if it were a compound. Marijuana-related meanings by similarity of appearance of the butt, attested since the 1930s.

roach · noun, verb³

Apparently from extended or figurative use of roach (“Cyprinidae”), above. Compare the adjective roached (“styled so that the mane stands up from the neck”).

roach · noun⁴

Variant of roche (“rock”). Attested since the seventeenth century.

Roach · proper noun⁵

1. Old French · derived fromroche“rock”
2. English todayRoach

* As an English surname, of Norman origin, from Old French roche (“rock”). Compare Roch. * Also as an English surname, from the River Roch; see Roch. * Also as an English surname, shortened from Rochdale.

Words from the same roots