peach

Etymology 1

From Middle English peche, borrowed from Old French pesche (French pêche), Vulgar Latin *pessica (cf. Medieval Latin pesca) from Late Latin persica, from Classical Latin mālum persicum, from Ancient Greek μᾶλον περσικόν (mâlon persikón, “Persian apple”).

noun

1. A tree (Prunus persica), native to China and now widely cultivated throughout temperate regions, having pink flowers and edible fruit.
   I think it the best way to plant the fifteen sorts, and the hard Peaches I have mentioned, in the same order as they stand in the list. 1768, M. Combles, A Treatise Upon the Culture of Peach Trees
   Several attempts have been made to class the varieties of Peaches and Nectarines by the leaf and flower, as well as the fruit. 1840, Thomas Bridgeman, The Young Gardener's Assistant
   Scattered plantings of peaches are maintained on the light-textured deep alluvial soils of the Foster, Cajon, Hanford, Hesperia, and Greenfield series west of Porterville, near Woodville, Poplar, Sausalito School, and farther south along the Kern County boundary line north of Delano. 1942, Raymond Earl Storie, Soil survey, the Pixley area, California, volume 1, page 11
   State universities and U.S. Department of Agriculture facilities have largely replaced the private state and national pomological and horticultural organizations as the primary researchers for peach cultivation. 2014, Melissa Walker, The New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture, volume 11
2. The soft juicy stone fruit of the peach tree, having yellow flesh, downy, red-tinted yellow skin, and a deeply sculptured pit or stone containing a single seed.
   […] and that the English should eat peaches in May, and green pease in October, sounds to Italian ears as a miracle; they comfort themselves, however, by saying that they must be very insipid, while we know that fruits forced by strong fire are at least many of them higher in flavour than those produced by sun […] 1789, Hester Lynch Piozzi, Observations and Reflections Made in the Course of a Journey Through France, Italy, and Germany, volume 2
   When dissolved, stir it up well, and put in the peaches, without crowding them, and boil them slowly about twenty minutes. 1869, The American Housewife and Kitchen Directory
   Boiling water or steam loosens the peel of very ripe peaches, especially freestone or melting-flesh types, in 10-30 sec. 2012, Jasper Woodroof, Commercial Fruit Processing
3. (color) A light moderate to strong yellowish pink to light orange color.
   To dye one chip bonnet peach colour, put four ounces of cudbear in one gallon of water, make it boil, and put one ounce of soda in the liquor. 1854, Thomas Love, The Art of Cleaning, Dyeing, Scouring and Finishing, Etc
   If the dye is for a light color such as peach, more dry dye could be used. 1990, Lila Fretz, Hooking Rugs: Storey's Country Wisdom Bulletin
   Circle Quilt throw in peach and green 2013, Kim Eichler-Messmer, Modern Color—An Illustrated Guide to Dyeing Fabric for Modern Quilts
   peach:
4. (informal) A particularly admirable or pleasing person or thing.
   How did the common expressions "She's a peach!" and "He has a peach of a job!" arise if not because the peach of all fruits is a symbol of perfection? September 1922, Lucile Brewer, “Fourteen Peach Delicacies”, in The Delineator, volume 101
   Walking on the beaches / looking at the peaches 1977, “Peaches”, in Rattus Norvegicus, performed by The Stranglers
   Except for the loss of Uncle Jack's income, his mother's growing disenchantment with her domestic arrangements, and the deepening Depression, it was a peach of a time for Berryman. 1996, Paul L. Mariani, Dream Song: The Life of John Berryman
   Arsenal's dominance was reflected in a flurry of goals before half-time – three in six minutes: first, Podolski turned the screw with a peach of a free-kick; then Gervinho accelerated on to Mikel Arteta's beautifully crafted pass and beat Davis at his near post with conviction; and finally Southampton's defence unspooled completely when Gervinho broke to release Gibbs, whose return ball cannoned off Nathaniel Clyne for Southampton's second own goal of a sobering afternoon. September 15, 2012, Amy Lawrence, “Arsenal's Gervinho enjoys the joy of six against lowly Southampton”, in the Guardian
5. (often in plural) buttock or bottom
   Gia danced around a little, shaking her peaches for show. She shook it hard. Too hard. In the middle of a shimmy, her stomach cramped. A fart slipped out. A loud one. And stinky. 2011, Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi, A Shore Thing

adj

1. Of or pertaining to the color peach.
   Looking around her very large and very peach open kitchen and family room, I couldn't believe my eyes, but I knew the color must be there for a reason. 2006, Anne Bold-Pryor, The Naked Wall
   The dining compartment was very peach. 2012, Mac Barnett, It Happened on a Train
   Perhaps this is best illustrated in the particularly bizarre Kinkade painting entitled The Good Shepherd's Cottage, where an openarmed (and very peach) Jesus welcomes a herd of sheep—literal sheep—to the threshold of a glowing cottage. 2014, Kristin G. Congdon, Happy Clouds, Happy Trees: The Bob Ross Phenomenon
2. Particularly pleasing or agreeable.
   'That'll be just peach with me.' 2000, Marc Behm, Afraid to Death, page 174
   If I explain that I won't help them maintain systems running proprietary software (I'll make an exception for firmware, sometimes.) they usually shrug their shoulders and ask someone else -- which is just peach with me. May 19, 2011, Gilbert Sullivan, “SWF (Adobe Flash) support”, in linux.debian.user (Usenet)
   Her words were peach with sincerity, and I could tell she really believed it was a good idea. 2011, R. J. Anderson, Ultraviolet, page 9
   I am sure I was just peach to deal with. November 2, 2015, “Resetting, goalsetting, and dreamsetting”, in From Athlete to triathlete

Etymology 2

From Middle English pechen, from apechen (“to accuse”) and empechen (“to accuse”), possibly from Anglo-Norman anpecher, from Late Latin impedicō (“entangle”). See impeach.

verb

1. (intransitive, obsolete) To inform on someone; turn informer.
   If I be ta'en, I'll peach for this. 1623, Shakespeare, Henry IV
   And his father had told him if he ever wanted anything to write home to him and, whatever he did, never to peach on a fellow. 1916, James Joyce, Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, paperback edition, Macmillan Press Ltd, page 21
   "Do you think we want to peach? No, thank you. We may be none too good, but we won't hang a guy up, no matter who he is.[…]" 1913, Rex Stout, Her Forbidden Knight, Carroll & Graf, published 1997, page 123
2. (transitive, obsolete) To inform against.
   Complaining of the conduct of Sir Ralph Robinson, parson of Brede, in Sussex, who took from him a psalter book in English, printed cum privilegio regali, and peached him of heresy, whereupon he was put in the stocks by the King's constable for two days. 1535, Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic of the Reign of Henry VIII, volume 9, published 1886, page 387
   […] and finding out the residence of his brother Charles, desires him not to peach him, but to lend him a suit of his fine cloaths, that he might see what it was to be a fine gentleman […] 1774, “The British Theatre”, in London Magazine, volume 43, page 639
   Ay, says Will, I am undone for all that; for the officers are after me; and I am a dead dog if I am taken, for George is in custody, and he has peached me and all the others, to save his life. 1840, Daniel Defoe, Life of Colonel Jack: And, a True Relation of the Apparition of One Mrs. Veal

Etymology 3

noun

1. (mineralogy, obsolete, Cornwall) A particular rock found in tin mines, sometimes associated with chlorite.
   Chlorite forms the characterizing ingredient in chlorite slate; it is common in Cornwall with the tin veins, constituting with quartz the rock commonly known there as killas; the ordinary name for chlorite is peach. 1858, Robert Philips Greg, Manual of the mineralogy of Great Britain & Ireland
   Peach, which is a word used by the Cornish miners, in a generic sense, to denote all minerals of the chloritic family—and is consequently a very convenient word—seems to be essentially the "mother" of tin; but the experience of Cornwall goes to show that peach alone does not produce a permanent tin mine: an intermixture of quartz is necessary to give what miners call "strength" to the lode. 1862, “Illustrated Notes on Prominent Mines”, in The Mining and Smelting Magazine, volume 2, page 17
   A quartz (sparry) vein, unless accompanied by other minerals such as peach, chlorite, &c., is considered valueless as an indication of the presence of ore. 1908, James Bastian Hill, The Geology of Falmouth and Truro and of the Mining District of Camborne and Redruth