Home › Words › P › parchparch/pɑɹt͡ʃ/parch means the condition of being parched.parch is pronounced /pɑɹt͡ʃ/.EtymologyFrom Middle English parchen, paarchen (“to parch; dry; roast”), of uncertain origin. Perhaps a variant of Middle English perchen (“to roast”).nounThe condition of being parched.e.g.“Yet here he is, not at the head, but somewhere toward the rear of the serpentine queue wending its way through all this parch […].” — 1982, TC Boyle, Water Music, Penguin, published 2006, page 64:verbTo burn the surface of, to scorch.e.g.“The sun today could parch cement.”To roast, as dry grain.e.g.“Ye shall eat neither bread, nor parched corn.” — 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Leviticus 23:14:To dry to extremity; to shrivel with heat.e.g.“The patient’s mouth is parched from fever.”To make very thirsty.e.g.“We're parched, hon. Could you send up an ale from the cooler?”To boil something slowly (Still used in Lancashire in parched peas, a type of mushy peas).To become superficially burnt; to become sunburned.e.g.“The locals watched, amused, as the tourists parched in the sun, having neglected to apply sunscreen or bring water.”Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).