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Lurch
Definitions
- 1 A sudden or unsteady movement.
"the lurch of a ship, or of a drunkard"
- 2 A lift or heave. dialectal
- 3 A predicament or difficult situation. countable, uncountable
"to leave someone in the lurch"
- 4 an unsteady uneven gait wordnet
- 5 An old game played with dice and counters; a variety of the game of tables. countable, uncountable
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- 6 the act of moving forward suddenly wordnet
- 7 A double score in cribbage for the winner when their adversary has not yet pegged their 31st hole. countable, uncountable
"August 14, 1784, Horace Walpole, letter to the Hon. H. S. Conway Lady Blandford has cried her eyes out on losing a lurch."
- 8 abrupt up-and-down motion (as caused by a ship or other conveyance) wordnet
- 9 a decisive defeat in a game (especially in cribbage) wordnet
- 1 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."
- 2 To swallow or eat greedily; to devour; hence, to swallow up. obsolete
"Too far off from great cities, which may hinder business; too near them, which lurcheth all provisions, and maketh everything dear."
- 3 To evade by stooping; to lurk; lie in wait; go about in a sneaking way. dialectal, intransitive
- 4 To defeat in the game of cribbage with a lurch (double score as explained under noun entry). transitive
- 5 defeat by a lurch wordnet
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- 6 To take by surprise; to unexpectedly detain. dialectal, intransitive
- 7 To leave someone in the lurch; to cheat. obsolete, transitive
"Never deceive or lurch the sincere communicant."
- 8 move abruptly wordnet
- 9 To rob. obsolete, transitive
"And in the brunt of seventeen battles since / He lurched all swords of the garland."
- 10 walk as if unable to control one's movements wordnet
- 11 move slowly and unsteadily wordnet
- 12 loiter about, with no apparent aim wordnet
Etymology
Originally a nautical term, found in lee-larches (“the sudden and violent rolls of a ship to the leeward in high seas”), of unknown origin. Possibly the same as lurch (“to move stealthily, evade by stooping”) (see below), or from French lâcher (“to let go”).
Originally a nautical term, found in lee-larches (“the sudden and violent rolls of a ship to the leeward in high seas”), of unknown origin. Possibly the same as lurch (“to move stealthily, evade by stooping”) (see below), or from French lâcher (“to let go”).
From Middle English *lurchen (recorded only in Middle English lurcare, lurcard (“glutton”)), from Old French *lurcher, from Latin lurcō (“eat greedily, guzzle”), of uncertain origin. Compare Middle High German slurken (“to slurp”) (whence German schlurken).
From Middle English lorchen, variant of Middle English lurken (“to lurk”). More at lurk.
From Middle English lorchen, variant of Middle English lurken (“to lurk”). More at lurk.
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.
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.
See also for "lurch"
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