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Retch

//ɹɛt͡ʃ// noun, verb

Definitions

Noun

1
An unsuccessful effort to vomit.
2
an involuntary spasm of ineffectual vomiting wordnet

Verb

1
To make or experience an unsuccessful effort to vomit; to strain or spasm, as if to vomit; to gag or nearly vomit. intransitive, transitive
"Here he grew inarticulate with retching."
2
To reck. ambitransitive, obsolete
3
Alternative form of reach. alt-of, alternative, dialectal
4
eject the contents of the stomach through the mouth wordnet
5
To vomit; to make or experience a successful effort to vomit. broadly, intransitive, transitive
"[…] in a couple of hours they were seized with violent retching; the contents of their stomachs were mixed with blood, mucus, and froth."

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6
make an unsuccessful effort to vomit; strain to vomit wordnet

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English *recchen, *rechen (attested in arechen), hræcen (“to cough up”), from Old English hrǣċan (“to clear the throat, hawk, spit”), from Proto-West Germanic *hrākijan, from Proto-Germanic *hrēkijaną (“to clear one's throat”), from Proto-Indo-European *kreg- (“to caw, crow”). Cognate with Icelandic hrækja (“to hawk, spit”), Limburgish räöke (“to induce vomiting”), Bavarian reckn (“to retch, gag”) and German recken (“to retch, gag”). Also related with German Rachen (“throat”).

Etymology 2

Etymology 3

From Middle English recchen (“to care; heed”), from Old English rēċċan, variant of rēċan (“to care; reck”), from Proto-Germanic *rōkijaną (“to care”), from Proto-Indo-European *reǵ- (“straight, right, just”).

Etymology 4

From Middle English recchen, from Old English reċċan (“to stretch, extend”), from Proto-West Germanic *rakkjan, from Proto-Germanic *rakjaną (“to straighten, stretch”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃roǵéyeti.

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