Meanings
loach1
plural loaches
- A bottom-feeding freshwater fish in the superfamily or suborder Cobitoidea.
- Any true loach, of the family Cobitidae.
- A similar fish in one of three other families of Cypriniformes: Botiidae, Balitoridae, and Gyrinocheilidae.
loach2
Loach3
Synonyms & antonyms
nounSynonym of LOH (light observation helicopter)
Origin
loach · noun
- Gaulish*leuca“loach, slug”
- Vulgar Latin*laukka“loach”
- Old Frenchloche
- Middle Englishloche
- Englishloach
From Middle English loche, from Old French loche, further origin uncertain, possibly from Vulgar Latin *laukka (“loach”), which could be from Gaulish *leuca (“loach, slug”), also attested as the feminine name Leuca, from leux (“bright, light”), a reference to slugs' bright appearance, the fish later being associated due to similarities to the slug.
More words from Middle English, Old French, Vulgar Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian щипок
- щипок (štipok)fish of the family Cobitidae
Chinese Mandarin 鯉形目 /鲤形目
- 鯉形目 /鲤形目fish of the family Cobitidae
Czech mřenka
- mřenkafish of the family Cobitidae
Finnish piikkinuoliainen, nuoliainen
- piikkinuoliainenfish of the family Cobitidae
- nuoliainenfish of the family Cobitidae
French loche
- lochefish of the family Cobitidae
German Schmerle
- Schmerlefish of the family Cobitidae
Hungarian csík
- csíkfish of the family Cobitidae
Polish piskorz
- piskorzfish of the family Cobitidae
Portuguese cadozete
- cadozetefish of the family Cobitidae
Russian голе́ц
- голе́ц (goléc)fish of the family Cobitidae
Slovak pĺž, pĺžik
- pĺžfish of the family Cobitidae
- pĺžikfish of the family Cobitidae
Spanish locha
- lochafish of the family Cobitidae
Ukrainian палія
- палія (palija)fish of the family Cobitidae
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with loach
All rhymes →Anagrams
Cite this entry
loach. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/loach
“loach.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/loach. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “loach,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/loach.
Source: loach on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.