I. ˈpēch noun
( -es )
Etymology: Middle English peche, from Middle French (the fruit) from Late Latin persica, from Latin persicum, from neuter of Persicus Persian
1.
a. : a low spreading freely branching tree ( Prunus persica ) that is native to China but cosmopolitan in cultivation in temperate areas and often found as an escape and that has drooping lanceolate leaves, sessile usually pink flowers borne on the naked twigs in early spring, and a fruit which is a drupe with a single seed enclosed in a hard endocarp, a pulpy white or yellow mesocarp, and a thin firm downy epicarp — compare cherry 1a, plum
b. : the sweet juicy edible fruit of the peach which is widely used as a fresh or cooked fruit, in preserves, or dried
2. : the quandong of Australia
3. : any of various trees or shrubs or their edible fruits resembling the peach
4. : a variable color averaging a moderate yellowish pink that is yellower, less strong, and slightly darker than peach pink, yellower and paler than coral pink, and yellower, lighter, and stronger than dusty pink
5. : peach brandy
6. : one likened to a peach in sweetness, beauty, or excellence : something particularly good in its class
is a peach to work with — Atlantic
should be a peach of a game — Holiday
she's got a studio with a peach of an English girl — A.H.Gibbs
II. verb
( -ed/-ing/-es )
Etymology: Middle English pechen, short for apechen to appeach — more at appeach
transitive verb
: to inform against : betray
the woman was about to play false, and to peach the rest — George Borrow
intransitive verb
: to turn informer : blab , tattle
the vilest of all sins — is to peach the headmaster — F.M.Ford