fratch

F4R1A1T1C3H4
/fɹæt͡ʃ/

noun

A dispute, a quarrel; a fight or brawl.

OriginMiddle English fracchen →
Scrabble 14
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Meanings

nounfratch (plural fratches)

plural fratches

  1. UKA dispute, a quarrel; a fight or brawl.

    -I ha' never had no fratch afore, sin ever I were born, wi' any o' my like; Gonnows I ha' none now that's o' my makin'.

    1854, Charles Dickens, “read online”, in Hard Times. For These Times, London: Bradbury & Evans, […], →OCLC
verbfratch (third-person singular simple present fratches, present participle fratching, simple past and past participle fratched)

present singular third person fratches · participle present fratching · participle past fratched · past fratched

  1. UKYorkshireTo argue, to quarrel; to fight.

    "I am just talking to relieve myself, John. I know better than to fratch with anyone—at least I think I do."

    1915, Amelia Edith Huddleston Barr, The Measure of a Man

Origin

  1. Middle Englishfracchen“to make a harsh or strident noise; creak”
  2. Englishfratch

From Middle English fracchen (“to make a harsh or strident noise; creak”). Cognate with Scots fratch (“to quarrel”).

More words from Middle English

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

fratch. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fratch

MLA

“fratch.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fratch. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “fratch,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fratch.

Source: fratch on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.