Roach
/roʊtʃ/noun
A roach is either a freshwater fish of the carp family or, informally, a cockroach.
Did you know?The insect sense is a shortening of “cockroach,” whose earlier English forms were reshaped from Spanish cucaracha; it is not etymologically related to the fish.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
ῥόχθος (rhokhthos)
“A rough, rocky sound or roar; sometimes proposed as a distant source for the fish name, though the connection is uncertain.”
Medieval French
Old French
roche
“A roach or similar freshwater fish; the immediate source commonly cited for the fish sense.”
15th Century
English
roche
“A freshwater fish, especially the common roach.”
16th Century
English
roach
“The shortened English form used for the fish.”
17th Century
Spanish
cucaracha
“Cockroach; the source of English cockroach through altered forms.”
17th Century
English
cockroach
“A large insect name, probably formed by reshaping Spanish cucaracha.”
Modern English
English
roach
“An informal shortening of cockroach, as well as the established name of the freshwater fish.”