Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Poach
Poach
(pōch)
, Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Poached
(pōcht)
; p. pr. & vb. n.
Poaching
.] [F. ]
pocher
to place in a pocket, to poach eggs (the yolk of the egg being as it were pouched
in the white), from poche
pocket, pouch. See Pouch
, Verb.
& Noun.
1.
To cook, as eggs, by breaking them into boiling water; also, to cook with butter after breaking in a vessel.
Bacon.
2.
To rob of game; to pocket and convey away by stealth, as game; hence, to plunder.
Garth.
Poach
,Verb.
I.
To steal or pocket game, or to carry it away privately, as in a bag; to kill or destroy game contrary to law, especially by night; to hunt or fish unlawfully;
as, to
. poach
for rabbits or for salmonPoach
,Verb.
T.
[Cf. OF.
pocher
to thrust or dig out with the fingers, to bruise (the eyes), F. pouce
thumb, L. pollex
, and also E. poach
to cook eggs, to plunder, and poke
to thrust against.] 1.
To stab; to pierce; to spear, as fish.
[Obs.]
Carew.
2.
To force, drive, or plunge into anything.
[Obs.]
His horse
poching
one of his legs into some hollow ground. Sir W. Temple.
3.
To make soft or muddy by trampling.
Tennyson.
4.
To begin and not complete.
[Obs.]
Bacon.
Poach
,Verb.
I.
To become soft or muddy.
Chalky and clay lands . . . chap in summer, and
poach
in winter. Mortimer.
Webster 1828 Edition
Poach
POACH
, v.t.1.
To boil slightly.2.
To dress by boiling slightly and mixing in a soft mass.3.
To begin and not complete.4.
To tread soft ground, or snow and water, as cattle, whose feet penetrate the soil of soft substance and leave deep tracks. 5.
To steal game; properly, to pocket game, or steal it and convey it away in a bag.6.
To steal; to plunder by stealth. They poach Parnassus,and lay claim for praise.
POACH
,Verb.
T.
To stab; to pierce; to spear; as, to poach fish.
POACH
,Verb.
I.
Chalky and clay lands burn in hot weather, chap in summer, and poach in winter.