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loach

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loach¹

  • /ˈləʊt͡ʃ/

Rhymes with -əʊtʃ

Where it comes from

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.

noun loaches

  1. Any true loach, of the family Cobitidae.
  2. A similar fish in one of three other families of Cypriniformes: Botiidae, Balitoridae, and Gyrinocheilidae.

loach²

  • /ˈləʊt͡ʃ/

Rhymes with -əʊtʃ

Where it comes from

From the pronunciation of the acronym LOH (“loach”).

noun loaches

  1. slang Synonym of LOH (light observation helicopter)

    Similar: LOH

Loach³

proper noun Loaches

  1. A surname

Translations

Every language

noun fish of the family Cobitidae

Españollocha
中文鯉形目 /鲤形目
Portuguêscadozete
Françaisloche
DeutschSchmerle
Русскийголе́ц goléc

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Cite this
MLA

"loach." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/loach. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

loach. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/loach

Chicago

"loach." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/loach.

BibTeX
@misc{loach_2026,
  title = {loach},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/loach},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}