thatch

Meaning

Noun

1. Straw, rushes, or similar, used for making or covering the roofs of buildings, or of stacks of hay or grain.
2. Any of several kinds of palm, the leaves of which are used for thatching.
3. A buildup of cut grass, stolons or other material on the soil in a lawn.
4. Any straw-like material, such as a person's hair.

Verb

To cover the roof with straw, reed, leaves, etc.

Pronounced as (IPA)

/θæt͡ʃ/

Etymology

Variant of thack, from Middle English thache, thach, from Old English þæc (“roof-covering”), from Proto-West Germanic *þak, from Proto-Germanic *þaką (“covering”), from (o-grade of) Proto-Indo-European *(s)teg- (“cover”).
Cognate with Icelandic þak, Dutch dak, German Dach, Norwegian tak, Swedish tak, Danish tag; and with Latin toga, Albanian thak (“awn, beard, pin, peg, tassel, fringe”), Lithuanian stogas (“roof”). Related to Ancient Greek τέγος (tégos, “roof”) and στέγη (stégē, “roof”). See also English deech, deck.