poach
pronunciation
How to pronounce poach in British English:
UK [pəʊtʃ]
How to pronounce poach in American English:
US [poʊtʃ]
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- Verb:
- hunt illegally
- cook in a simmering liquid
Word Origin
- poach
- poach: English has two words poach, both of which go back ultimately to Old French pocher ‘put in a bag’, a derivative of poche ‘bag’ (source of English pocket and pouch). The cookery term [15] is an allusion to the forming of little ‘bags’ or ‘pockets’ around the yolk of eggs by the coagulating white. Poach ‘steal’ [17] seems to mean etymologically ‘put in one’s pocket’.=> pocket, pouch
- poach (v.1)
- "steal game," 1520s, "to push, poke," from Middle French pocher "to thrust, poke," from Old French pochier "poke out, gouge, prod, jab," from a Germanic source (compare Middle High German puchen "to pound, beat, knock," German pochen, Middle Dutch boken "to beat") related to poke (v.). Sense of "trespass for the sake of stealing" is first attested 1610s, perhaps via notion of "thrusting" oneself onto another's property, or perhaps from French pocher "to pocket" (see poach (v.2)). Related: Poached; poaching.
- poach (v.2)
- "cook in liquid," early 15c., from Old French poché, past participle of pochier (12c.), literally "put into a pocket" (as the white of an egg forms a pocket for the yolk), from poche "bag, pocket," from Frankish *pokka "bag," from Proto-Germanic *puk- (see poke (n.)). Related: Poached; poaching.
Example
- 1. The locals are keen ; they have no motive to poach them .
- 2. Singapore is pushing to become an asian hub for derivatives clearing and to poach business from europe and the us as regulation reshapes markets .
- 3. Whether all this largess will be enough to negate the huge economic incentive to poach tigers is moot .
- 4. On the one hand , a sale would lower the price and thus reduce the incentive to poach .
- 5. Along the border , guatemalans poach game and plants from belize 's national parks .