poach

poach
I. transitive verb Etymology: Middle English pocchen, from Middle French pocher, from Old French poché poached, literally, bagged, from poche bag, pocket — more at pouch Date: 15th century to cook in simmering liquid II. verb Etymology: Middle French pocher, of Germanic origin; akin to Middle English poken to poke Date: 1611 intransitive verb 1. to encroach upon especially for the purpose of taking something 2. to trespass for the purpose of stealing game; also to take game or fish illegally transitive verb 1. to trespass on <
a field poached too frequently by the amateur — Times Literary Supplement
>
2. a. to take (game or fish) by illegal methods b. to appropriate (something) as one's own c. to attract (as an employee or customer) away from a competitor

New Collegiate Dictionary. 2001.

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  • poach — [pəʊtʆ ǁ poʊtʆ] verb [intransitive, transitive] 1. HUMAN RESOURCES to persuade someone to leave an organization and come and work for you: • Wall Street firms have always poached each other s star brokers. poach from • We prefer not to poach from …   Financial and business terms

  • poach — [pəutʃ US poutʃ] v ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ 1¦(cook)¦ 2¦(animals)¦ 3¦(people)¦ 4¦(steal ideas)¦ 5 poach on somebody s territory/preserve ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ [Sense: 1; Date: 1400 1500; : Old French; Origin: pochier, from poche bag, pocket ] [Sense: 2 5; Date: 1600 1700; …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • poach — [ poutʃ ] verb 1. ) transitive to cook something in water, milk, or another liquid that is boiling gently: Poach the chicken in white wine for 15 minutes. a ) to cook an egg without its shell in water that is boiling gently 2. ) intransitive or… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • poach — Ⅰ. poach [1] ► VERB ▪ cook by simmering in a small amount of liquid. ORIGIN Old French pochier (earlier in the sense enclose in a bag ), from poche bag, pocket . Ⅱ. poach [2] ► VERB 1) illegally take (ga …   English terms dictionary

  • Poach — Poach, v. t. [Cf. OF. pocher to thrust or dig out with the fingers, to bruise (the eyes), F. pouce thumb, L. pollex, and also E. poach to cook eggs, to plunder, and poke to thrust against.] 1. To stab; to pierce; to spear, as fish. [Obs.] Carew.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Poach — Poach, v. i. To become soft or muddy. [1913 Webster] Chalky and clay lands . . . chap in summer, and poach in winter. Mortimer. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Poach — (p[=o]ch), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Poached} (p[=o]cht); p. pr. & vb. n. {Poaching}.] [F. pocher to place in a pocket, to poach eggs (the yolk of the egg being as it were pouched in the white), from poche pocket, pouch. See {Pouch}, v. & n.] 1. To… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Poach — Poach, v. i. To steal or pocket game, or to carry it away privately, as in a bag; to kill or destroy game contrary to law, especially by night; to hunt or fish unlawfully; as, to poach for rabbits or for salmon. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • poach — poach·wood; poach; poach·er; …   English syllables

  • poach|er — poach|er1 «POH chuhr», noun. a person who poaches or trespasses, especially to hunt or fish illegally. ╂[< poach1 + er1] poach|er2 «POH chuhr», noun. a vessel or pan for poaching, as eggs or fish. ╂[< poach2 + er1] …   Useful english dictionary

  • poach — I verb appropriate, carry off, filch, furtim feras intercipere, make off with, misappropriate, peculate, pilfer, pirate, plunder by stealth, purloin, rifle, run off with, snatch, steal, take by illegal methods, take by unfair methods, take… …   Law dictionary

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