roach

Noun · Verb
Synonyms: R-2Mexican valiumrophyroperoofyforget me drugcirclecockroachRutilus rutilus

WordNet 3.0

Noun (5)

  1. a roll of hair brushed back from the forehead
  2. the butt of a marijuana cigarette
  3. street names for flunitrazepanSynonyms: R-2Mexican valiumrophyroperoofyforget me drugcircle
  4. any of numerous chiefly nocturnal insects; some are domestic pestsSynonyms: cockroach
  5. European freshwater food fish having a greenish backSynonyms: Rutilus rutilus

Verb (2)

  1. comb (hair) into a roach
  2. cut the mane off (a horse)
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Webster's Dictionary (GCIDE)

Roach \Roach\, n. (Zool.) A cockroach. [1913 Webster]
Roach \Roach\, n. [OE. rroche; cf. AS. reohha, D. rog, roch, G. roche, LG. ruche, Dan. rokke ray, Sw. rocka, and E. ray a fish.]

1.(Zool.) (a) A European fresh-water fish of the Carp family (Leuciscus rutilus). It is silver-white, with a greenish back. (b) An American chub (Semotilus bullaris); the fallfish. (c) The redfin, or shiner. [1913 Webster]

2.(Naut.) A convex curve or arch cut in the edge of a sail to prevent chafing, or to secure a better fit. [1913 Webster]

As sound as a roach [roach perhaps being a corruption of a F. roche a rock], perfectly sound. [1913 Webster]

Roach \Roach\, v. t.

1.To cause to arch. [1913 Webster]

2.To cut off, as a horse's mane, so that the part left shall stand upright. [1913 Webster]

Free On-line Dictionary of Computing

roach

<jargon> A Bell Labs term meaning destroy, especially of a data structure. Hardware gets toasted or fried, software gets roached. [Why?] [Jargon File]

(1999-02-08)

The Jargon File

roach vt.

[Bell Labs] To destroy, esp. of a data structure. Hardware gets toasted or fried, software gets roached. Probably derived from '70s and '80s drug slang; marijuana smokers used ‘roach’ to refer to the unsmokable remnant of a joint, and to ‘roach’ a joint was therefore to destroy it.

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