cotch

English

Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

Verb

cotch (third-person singular simple present cotches, present participle cotching, simple past and past participle caught or cotched or (obsolete) cotch)

1. Pronunciation spelling of catch.
   • 1911, Edward S. Ellis, The Lost Trail‎^[1]:

     Blast his sowl--that hunter I mane, an' if iver I cotch him, may I be used for a flail if I don't settle his accounts."

   • 1892, Harry Castlemon, Frank on a Gun-Boat‎^[2]:

     "Dey come here for to cotch young massa George Le Dell, 'cause dey knowed he would be shore for to come here."

   • 1914, Various, Dew Drops Vol. 37. No. 17, April 26, 1914‎^[3]:

     Youse bettah look out, honey, or dey'll cotch youalls, shuah!"

   • 1880, Martha Lewis Beckwith Ewell, The Harvest of Years‎^[4]:

     Mas'r Sumner an' a'heap mo' on 'em would jes' like fur to kill dat Mas'r Dayton ef dey could cotch him.

   • 1901, John Hay, The Bread-winners‎^[5]:

     But one ting ish goot; dey cotch de murterer."

   • 1911, Charles Egbert Craddock (aka Mary Noailles Murfree), The Raid Of The Guerilla‎^[6]:

     Ye mought hev cotch the smallpox.

   • 1839, Charles James Lever, The Confessions of Harry Lorrequer, Vol. 2‎^[7]:

     "Well, we've cotch them any how," said the urchin, as he disengaged himself from his wet saddle, and stood upon the ground; "and it is not my fault that the coach is not before us."

Etymology 2

Verb

cotch (third-person singular simple present cotches, present participle cotching, simple past and past participle cotched)

1. (Jamaica, slang, intransitive) To hang out or chill out.
2. (Jamaica, intransitive) To prop, lean, rest.
   • 2016, Nicole Dennis-Benn, chapter 1, in Here Comes the Sun:

     She gestures toward the crème with her chin, an action that she has seen the women in the shop do when they place their orders, their confidence evident in the way they stand, leaning with all their weight on the counter, one leg cotched on the back of the other.

Jamaican Creole

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkatʃ/
• Hyphenation: cotch

Noun

cotch

1. accommodation, place, space (accommodation)

   A lady give me a cotch at her house. ― A lady put me up at her place.

   Beg yuh a cotch fi di night? ― Can I spend the night at your place?

   • 2014, Pamela Bennett, Croakie and Rastaman (in English), →ISBN:

     “'Beg yuh a cotch fe di night,' Rastaman yawned at Croakie. […] ”

     'May I spend the night at your place,' said the Rastaman to Croakie yawningly. […]

2. (public transport) A shared space on a seat.

   Beg yuh a cotch? ― May I share your seat?

   (The addition of quotations indicative of this usage is being sought:)

Verb

cotch

1. lodge, sojourn, stay over (sojourn)

   'Im cotch up inna people yaad a farin. ― He's overseas staying at someone's home.

   • 2007, Mindie Lazarus-Black, Everyday Harm: Domestic Violence, Court Rites, and Cultures of Reconciliation (in English), →ISBN, page 125:

     “Moreover, like their counterparts in Jamaica: “Young men often have several places they can 'cotch' (stay temporarily). […] ”

2. obstruct; squeeze under; wedge

   Cotch di door. ― Put a wedge under the door to keep it open.

   • 1986, Honor Ford Smith, Sistren (Organization), Lionheart Gal: Life Stories of Jamaican Women, →ISBN, page 159:

     “She did have one stone a cotch di door […] ”

     She had placed a stone by the door to prevent it from closing […]

Further reading

• Richard Allsopp, editor (1996), Dictionary of Caribbean English Usage, Kingston, Jamaica: University of the West Indies Press, published 2003, →ISBN, page 171