pech

Senso (English)

1. (masculine, uncountable) bad luck; misfortune
2. (masculine, uncountable) breakdown, e.g. of a car

Synonyms

ongeluk

panne

ongeval

tegenslag

motorpech

tegenspoed

bijdraaien

ecologische ramp

accident

ongelukkig voorval

averij

catastrofe

mislukking

probleem

vergissing

malheur

Pronunciato come (IPA)

/pɛx/

Etimologia (English)

Cognate with inglese: pitch

Cognate with olandese: panne

In summary

From German Pech (“bad luck; pitch, tar”), from Old High German peh, from Latin pīx. Doublet of inherited pek (“pitch”). Also cognate with English pitch.
The sense “breakdown” is a Dutch innovation. It is probably modelled on the word ongeluk, which means both “bad luck, misfortune” and “accident”. Since pech typically denotes a lesser kind of bad luck, it came to be used for a lesser kind of traffic accident too. German uses Panne instead; compare Dutch panne.