pech

See also: Pech

English

Alternative forms

• paich, pegh

Etymology

Borrowed from Scots pech, apparently of imitative origin.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /pɛk/
• (Scotland) IPA^(key): /pɛx/
• Rhymes: -ɛx, -ɛk

Verb

pech (third-person singular simple present pechs, present participle peching, simple past and past participle peched)

1. (Scotland, Northern England) To pant, to struggle for breath.
   • 1913, John Buchan, Andrew Jameson, Lord Ardwall, page 136:

     An' as they breisted the lang lang hill / The puir horse graned and peched.

   • 1933, Lewis Grassic Gibbon, Cloud Howe (A Scots Quair), Polygon, published 2006, page 321:

     Then Chris saw Bruce, the porter, come in, with the mark on his jaw where his godfather hit him, then Leslie, the smith, paiching and sweating, he dropped his stick with an awful clatter.

   • 1954, Robin Jenkins, The Thistle and the Grail, published 1994, page 225:

     She peched and had to rest often.

   • 1955, Robin Jenkins, The Cone-Gatherers, Canongate, published 2012, page 207:

     When Graham reached him, however, he felt so exhausted he could not immediately explain; he had to sit on the ground, peching like a seal.

   • 1994, James Kelman, How Late it Was, How Late:

     If he could just stop breathing and listen but he was peching too much from the climb.

Anagrams

• EHCP, ceph, hep C

Breton

Noun

pech m (plural pechoù)

1. trap, booby trap

Chuj

Noun

pech

1. duck

Czech

Etymology

Borrowed from German Pech.

Noun

pech m inan

1. (colloquial) bad luck

   Synonym: smůla

Declension

This noun needs an inflection-table template.

Further reading

• pech in Příruční slovník jazyka českého, 1935–1957
• pech in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého, 1960–1971, 1989

Dutch

Etymology

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.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pɛx/

• Audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: pech
• Rhymes: -ɛx

Noun

pech m (uncountable)

1. bad luck; misfortune
2. breakdown, e.g. of a car

Derived terms

• autopech
• pechgeneratie
• pechvogel

 

Descendants

• Negerhollands: pech

Hungarian

Etymology

From German Pech.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈpɛxː]

• Audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: pech
• Rhymes: -ɛxː

Noun

pech (plural pechek)

1. bad luck, misfortune

   Synonym: balszerencse

   Antonyms: szerencse, mázli

Declension

Inflection (stem in -e-, front unrounded harmony)
	singular	plural
nominative	pech	pechek
accusative	pechet	pecheket
dative	pechnek	pecheknek
instrumental	pechhel	pechekkel
causal-final	pechért	pechekért
translative	pechhé	pechekké
terminative	pechig	pechekig
essive-formal	pechként	pechekként
essive-modal	—	—
inessive	pechben	pechekben
superessive	pechen	pecheken
adessive	pechnél	pecheknél
illative	pechbe	pechekbe
sublative	pechre	pechekre
allative	pechhez	pechekhez
elative	pechből	pechekből
delative	pechről	pechekről
ablative	pechtől	pechektől
non-attributive possessive - singular	peché	pecheké
non-attributive possessive - plural	pechéi	pechekéi

Possessive forms of pech
possessor	single possession	multiple possessions
1st person sing.	pechem	pecheim
2nd person sing.	peched	pecheid
3rd person sing.	peche	pechei
1st person plural	pechünk	pecheink
2nd person plural	pechetek	pecheitek
3rd person plural	pechük	pecheik

Derived terms

• peches

Further reading

• pech in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (‘The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language’, abbr.: ÉrtSz.). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN

Polish

Etymology

Borrowed from German Pech, from Middle High German pech, bech, from Old High German peh, beh, from Proto-West Germanic *pik, from Latin pix.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pɛx/

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛx
• Syllabification: pech

Noun

pech m animal

1. (usually in the singular) bad luck, misfortune

   Synonyms: niefart, nieszczęście

   Antonyms: fart, szczęście

   • 2002 December 13, Magdalena Grochowalska, “Szczęśliwa trzynastka?”, in Express Ilustrowany (journalism), Łódź: Oddział Prasa Łódzka, →ISSN:

     Jeśli w „normalny” dzień przewrócimy się i nic sobie nie zrobimy, to powiemy, że mieliśmy ogromne szczęście. Jeśli przydarzy nam się to trzynastego, w piątek, powiemy, że spotkał nas pech.

     If on a “normal” day we fall down and we don't hurt ourselves, then we say we were incredibly lucky. If this happens on Friday the 13th, then we say we were unlucky.

Declension

Declension of pech

	singular	plural
nominative	pech	pechy
genitive	pecha	pechów
dative	pechowi	pechom
accusative	pecha	pechy
instrumental	pechem	pechami
locative	pechu	pechach
vocative	pechu	pechy

Derived terms

adjective

• pechowy

 

noun

• pechowiec

 

verbs

• zapeszać impf
• zapeszyć pf

 

Related terms

adverb

• pechowo

 

noun

• pechowość

 

Further reading

• pech in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• pech in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Scots

Etymology

Imitative.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pɛç/

Verb

pech (third-person singular simple present pechs, present participle pechin, simple past pecht, past participle pecht)

1. to pant, gasp for breath