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lurch

noun
/lɜːt͡ʃ/UK/lɜɹt͡ʃ/US

Etymology

From Middle English *lurche (implied in derivative lurching), from Old French lourche (“deceived, embarrassed; also the name of a game”), from Proto-West Germanic *lort (“left; left-handed; crooked; bent; warped; underhanded; deceitful; limping”). Cognate to English lirt.

  1. derived from lurcō — “eat greedily, guzzle”
  2. derived from *lurcher✻
  3. inherited from *lurchen✻

Definitions

  1. A sudden or unsteady movement.

    • the lurch of a ship, or of a drunkard
    • Yet I hoped by grouting at the earth below it to be able to dislodge the stone at the side; but while I was considering how best to begin, the candle flickered, the wick gave a sudden lurch to one side, and I was left in darkness.

  2. To make such a sudden, unsteady movement.

    • It occurred to me there was no time to lose, and dodging the boom as it once more lurched across the deck, I slipped aft and down the companion stairs into the cabin.
    • The incident made it think, apparently, that the neighborhood was dangerous, for it slowly lurched off through the wood, followed by its mate and its three enormous infants.
    • Number One lurched forward, his arms outstretched toward the horror stricken girl.

  3. To swallow or eat greedily

    To swallow or eat greedily; to devour; hence, to swallow up.

    • Too far off from great cities, which may hinder business; too near them, which lurcheth all provisions, and maketh everything dear.
  4. ›+ 9 more definitions

    1. To evade by stooping

      To evade by stooping; to lurk; lie in wait; go about in a sneaking way.

    2. To take by surprise

      To take by surprise; to unexpectedly detain.

    3. To rob.

      • And in the brunt of seventeen battles since / He lurched all swords of the garland.

    4. A lift or heave.

    5. A predicament or difficult situation.

      • to leave someone in the lurch

    6. An old game played with dice and counters

      An old game played with dice and counters; a variety of the game of tables.

    7. A double score in cribbage for the winner when their adversary has not yet pegged their…

      A double score in cribbage for the winner when their adversary has not yet pegged their 31st hole.

      • August 14, 1784, Horace Walpole, letter to the Hon. H. S. Conway Lady Blandford has cried her eyes out on losing a lurch.

    8. To defeat in the game of cribbage with a lurch (double score as explained under noun…

      To defeat in the game of cribbage with a lurch (double score as explained under noun entry).

    9. To leave someone in the lurch

      To leave someone in the lurch; to cheat.

      • Never deceive or lurch the sincere communicant.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for lurch. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA