loach

• IPA^(key): /ˈləʊt͡ʃ/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -əʊtʃ

Misgurnus anguillicaudatus, the muddy loach

Wikispecies 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.[1]

loach (plural loaches)

1. A bottom-feeding freshwater fish in the superfamily or suborder Cobitoidea.
   1. Any true loach, of the family Cobitidae.
   2. A similar fish in one of three other families of Cypriniformes: Botiidae, Balitoridae, and Gyrinocheilidae.

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

loach (plural loaches)

1. (slang) Synonym of LOH (light observation helicopter)