Word: patch Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English patche, of uncertain origin. Perhaps an alteration of earlier Middle English placche (“patch, spot, piece of cloth”), from Old English *plæċċ, *pleċċ (“a spot, mark, patch”), from Proto-West Germanic *plakkju, from Proto-Germanic *plakjō (“spot, stain”). For the loss of l compare pat from Middle English platten. Germanic cognates would then include Middle English plecke, dialectal English pleck (“plot of ground, patch”), West Frisian plak (“place, spot”), Low German Plakk, Plakke (“spot, piece, patch”), Dutch plek (“spot, place, stain, patch”), Dutch plak (“piece, slab”), Swedish plagg (“garment”), Faroese plagg (“cloth, rag”). Or, possibly a variant of Old French pieche, dialectal variant of piece (“piece”). Compare also Old Occitan petaç (“patch”). Pronunciation: /pæt͡ʃ/ 1. A piece of cloth, or other suitable material, sewed or otherwise fixed upon a garment to repair or strengthen it, especially upon an old garment to cover a hole. Example: His sleeves had patches on the elbows where different fabric had been sewn on to replace material that had worn away. 2. A small piece of anything used to repair damage or a breach; as, a patch on a kettle, a roof, etc. Example: I can't afford to replace the roof, which is what it really needs. I'll have the roofer apply a patch. 3. A piece of any size, used to repair something for a temporary period only, or that it is temporary because it is not meant to last long or will be removed as soon as a proper repair can be made, which will happen in the near future. Example: Before you can fix a dam, you have to apply a patch to the hole so that everything can dry off. Example: "This patch should hold until you reach the city," the mechanic said as he patted the car's hood. 4. A small, usually contrasting but always somehow different or distinct, part of something else (location, time, size) Example: The world economy had a rough patch in the 1930s. Example: To me, a normal cow is white with black patches, but Sarah's from Texas and most of the cows there have solid brown, black, or red coats. 5. A small area, a small plot of land or piece of ground. Labels: specifically Example: scattered patches of trees or growing corn Example: There was a blackberry patch down by the creek, and his grandparents called the pasture down there the cow patch. 6. A local region of professional responsibility. Example: There is a lot to be said in praise of the local or regional outlet that keeps very closely across the doings and news in their patch. Example: […] formed a contact with a man, who was the secretary of the tenants' association of a small housing estate in the social worker's patch. 7. A small piece of black silk stuck on the face or neck to heighten beauty by contrast, worn by ladies in the 17th and 18th centuries; an imitation beauty mark. Labels: historical Example: Your black patches you wear variously. Example: ...Then the patches had to be placed—patches full of sentiment, coquetry, and bits of opinions as minute as themselves. Essences and powder had to he scattered together, and Henrietta's long black tresses gathered into a mass which might fairly set all the orders of architecture at defiance. 8. A piece of material used to cover a wound. 9. An adhesive piece of material, impregnated with a drug, which is worn on the skin, the drug being slowly absorbed over a period of time. Example: Many people use a nicotine patch to wean themselves off of nicotine. 10. A cover worn over a damaged eye, an eyepatch. Example: He had scratched his cornea so badly that his doctor told him to wear a patch. 11. A block on the muzzle of a gun, to do away with the effect of dispart, in sighting. 12. A piece of data intended to modify a computer file by replacing a part of it. Example: Immediately following the incident Siemens commissioned a software patch that will allow units which protectively shut down below 49Hz to recover themselves without the need of a reboot or laptop when the frequency rises to 49.5Hz. At the beginning of September, this patch was being verified by Siemens software engineers at Erlangen in Germany. 13. A small piece of material that is manually passed through a gun barrel to clean it. 14. A piece of greased cloth or leather used as wrapping for a rifle ball, to make it fit the bore. 15. A cable connecting two pieces of electrical equipment. Labels: usually Example: soundboard patch 16. A sound setting for a musical synthesizer (originally selected by means of a patch cable). Example: A synthesizer comes with controls to store patches and edit them. Some high-end synthesizers even have floppy disks for additional patch storage. 17. An overlay used to obtain a stronger impression. Labels: historical 18. A butterfly of the genus Chlosyne.