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culch or cultch

(kŭlch)

1. A natural bed for oysters, consisting of gravel or crushed shells to which the oyster spawn may adhere.

2. The spawn of the oyster.

3. New England Clean trash or rubbish, such as string, paper, and cloth: "We always had a culch box around" (New Hampshire informant in DARE).

4. A person or thing not highly regarded.

[Perhaps ultimately from Old French culche, couch; see COUCH.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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