> peach > > peach pitS, sb.1 Forms: 4-6 peche, 5 peshe, pesshe, (peske, peesk), > 6 peache, 6- peach. ME. a. Fr. pêche, OFr. peche, earlier pesche, in > ONFr. peske (= Pr. persega, Ital. persica, pesca):- late L. persica > (med.L. in Du Cange), for cl. L. persicum, ellipt. for Persicum > malum lit. Persian apple: so Persica malus or arbor, peach-tree. The > phonetic development in Romanic was persica, *persca, pesca, peske, > pesche, pêche. > > 1. > > a. The fruit of the tree Amygdalus persica (see 2), a large drupe, > usually round, of a whitish or yellow colour, flushed with red, with > downy skin, highly flavoured sweet pulp, and rough furrowed stone; > cultivated in many varieties. > > The varieties are classed as clingstone or freestone according as > the pulp adheres to or separates from the stone. The nectarine is a > variety with smooth skin and different flavour. > > * ? A. 1366 Chaucer Rom. Rose 1373 And many hoomly trees ther > were, That peches, coynes, and apples bere. > > * C. 1440 Promp. Parv. 395/1 Peske, or peche, frute [v.rr. peesk, > peshe], pesca, pomum Percicum. > > * C. 1483 Caxton Dialogues 13/7 Cheryes,..strawberies,..pesshes, > medliers. > > * 1542 Boorde Dyetary xxi. (1870) 283 Peches doeth mollyfy the > bely, and be colde. > > * 1591 Sylvester Du Bartas i. iii. 569 The velvet Peach, gilt > Orenge, downy Quince. > > * 1620 Venner Via Recta vii. 114 Peaches and Aprecocks are of one > and the same nature. > > * 1730-46 Thomson Autumn 676 The downy peach, the shining plum, > The ruddy, fragrant nectarine. > > * 1884 Miss Braddon Ishmael xxxvi, A gray velvet bodice that > fitted the plump, supple figure, as the rind fits the peach. > > b. slang. Someone or something of exceptional worth or quality; > someone or something particularly suitable or desirable, esp. an > attractive young woman. > > * 1754 E. Turner Let. 16 Aug. in Dickins & Stanton 18th-Cent. > Corresp. (1910) 238, I had almost forgot that orange Peach, > your Niece. > > * 1863 B. Harte in Daily Even. Bull. (San Francisco) 9 Dec. 5/3 > Phrases such as camps may teach,..Such as `Bully!' `Them's the > Peach!' > > * 1888 Puck (U.S.) XXII. 415/2 An' two young darters-one > eighteen. A reg'ler peach. > > * 1904 W. H. Smith Promoters vii. 134 You're a brick! You're a > peach! > > * 1907 Punch 2 Jan. 13/2 Prof. Br--ce: H'm! Nice pleasant > expression! One who was not a purist in language might almost > describe him as a `peach'. > > * 1917 Wodehouse Man with Two Left Feet 62 Opinions differ about > girls. One man's peach..is another man's poison. > > * 1919 H. L. Wilson Ma Pettengill iv. 111, I..landed a hard right > on the side of his jaw and dropped him just like that. It was > one peach I handed him and he slumped down like a sack of mush. > > * 1924 J. Sutherland Circle of Stars xii. 126 It's a peach of a > storm, and it's getting worse every moment. > > * 1925 F. Scott Fitzgerald Let. June (1964) 484 He's a peach of a > fellow and absolutely first-rate. > > * 1930 R. Crompton William-the Bad i. 19 Now would you think that > a peach like her would fall for a fat-headed chump like that? > > * 1943 E. B. White Let. 1 Jan. (1976) 236 You were a peach to > give me such a good present. > > * 1949 Sunday World-Herald Mag. (Omaha, Nebraska) 1 May 2/1 The > new recipe for making a peach cordial: Buy her a drink. > > * 1974 Times 1 Apr. 12/4 She had, of course, a peach of a > subject. > > * 1976 Derbyshire Times (Peak ed.) 3 Sept. 22/6 (Advt.), 1972 > Peugeot 504, white, 34,000, a real peach, L1,395. > > * 1976 P. Dickinson King & Joker iv. 46 Louise had a history > essay, a real peach for which she'd only needed to look up a > few dates. > > * 1977 D. Francis Risk xiv. 179 Dad's brought the detestable > Lida... Actually I would have liked it..if he'd fallen for a > peach. > > c. > > peaches and cream > > peaches and cream: used attrib. and absol. to designate a fair > complexion characterized by creamy skin and pink cheeks. > > * 1901 Ade Forty Mod. Fables 188 Give me some perfumed Dope that > will restore a Peaches and Cream Complexion. > > * 1967 D. Shannon Rain with Violence (1969) i. 10 Carole had very > blonde hair..and a peaches-and-cream skin. > > * 1969 J. Ashford Prisoner at Bar vii. 62 She had the perfect > peaches-and-cream beauty that was often called classical > English. > > * 1975 New Yorker 9 June 46/3 She had a real peaches-and-cream > complexion and a trim figure. > > * 1978 J. W. Wainwright Jury People lxii. 211 His complexion..was > pure `peaches and cream'. > > 2. The tree Amygdalus (Prunus) persica, N.O. Rosaceæ, a native of > Asia, introduced in ancient times into Europe; the peach-tree. > > * C. 1400 Lanfranc's Cirurg. 83 (Ashm. MS.) The ius of pe leeues > of pechis. > > * 1530 Palsgr. 252/2 Peache, tree, peschier. > > * 1663 Cowley Disc., Garden x, He bids the rustick Plum to rear A > noble Trunk, and be a Peach. > > * 1796 C. Marshall Garden. xvii. (1813) 284 Peach..succeeds > better than the nectarine, as to bearing and ripening. > > * 1898 Johnson's Gard. Dict. 722/2 Do not brush off the foliage > of peaches in the autumn. > > 3. Applied to other edible fruits resembling the peach, or to the > plants producing them: > > a. Sarcocephalus esculentus, a climbing shrub of West Africa ( > > Guinea, Negro, or Sierra Leone peach > > Guinea, Negro, or Sierra Leone peachGuinea, Negro, or Sierra Leone > peach), bearing a large juicy berry arising from the fused ovaries > of a cluster of flowers; > > b. the quandong, Fusanus acuminatus or Santalum acuminatum, of > Australia ( > > native peach > > native peach): > > c. Prunus caroliniana, the Carolina cherry-laurel ( > > wild peach > > wild peach), also called wild orange; > > d. > > wolf's peach > > wolf's peach, the tomato (Solanum lycopersicum). > > * 1760 J. Lee Introd. Bot. App. 322 Peach, Wolf's, Solanum. > > * 1866 Treas. Bot. 854 Peach, Guinea,..Native, of Australia,..of > Sierra Leone. > > * 1866 Treas. Bot. 1020 S[arcocephalus] esculentus has pink > flowers and an edible fruit, of the size of a peach, whence it > has been called the Sierra Leone Peach. > > 4. Short for peach-brandy: see 6. (U.S.) > > * 1809 M. L. Weems Life Gen. F. Marion viii. 74 Suppose you take > a glass of Peach. > > * 1845 J. J. Hooper Some Adventures Simon Suggs v. 53 Thar's > koniac, and old peach, and rectified. > > * 1853 Kane Grinnell Exp. xxxiv. (1856) 302 There the air, pure > and sharply cold..braces you up like peach and honey in a > Virginia fog. > > * 1880 Barman's Man. 55 Peach and Honey, one table-spoonful of > honey; one wine-glass of peach brandy. Stir with a spoon. > > 5. = peach-colour: see 6; also attrib. or as adj. > > * 1848 Dickens Dombey xxxvii, The diamonds or the peach-velvet > bonnet. > > * 1882 Garden 16 Sept. 260/1 Blooms of..rosy peach. > > * 1900 London Letter 26 Jan. 133/1 Outlined in varying shades of > roses from palest peach to deepest puce;..pleatings of white > chiffon edged with peach ruches. > > 6. attrib. and Comb., as > > peach-bud > > peach-bud, > > peach-down > > -down, > > peach-flavour > > -flavour, > > peach-flower > > -flower, > > peach-graft > > -graft, > > peach-kernel > > -kernel, > > peach-orchard > > -orchard, > > peach-stone > > -stone; > > peach-fed > > peach-fed, > > peach-like > > -like adjs.; also with names of colours: designating that shade of > the colour which is shown by the peach, as > > peach-beige > > peach-beige, > > peach-green > > -green, > > peach-pink > > -pink, > > peach-red > > -red; > > peach aphid > > peach aphid, > > aphis > > aphis, one of several aphides infesting peach trees, esp. the > peach-potato aphis, Myzus persicae; > > peach-bells > > peach-bells, a name for the peach-leaved bellflower (Campanula > persicifolia); > > peach-black > > peach-black, a black pigment made from calcined peach-stones; > > peach-blight > > peach-blight, > > peach-blister > > peach-blister, diseases of peach-trees, caused by the fungi Monilia > fructigena and Taphrina deformans respectively; > > peach-borer > > peach-borer, a name of insects whose larvæ bore through the bark of > the peach-tree: spec. a moth, Ægeria exitiosa, and a beetle, Dicerca > divaricata; > > peach-brake > > peach-brake, a dense thicket of the `wild peach' in Texas (see 3 c); > > peach-brandy > > peach-brandy, a spirituous liquor made from the fermented juice of > peaches; > > peach cobbler > > peach cobbler U.S., a cobbler (sense 4) made with peaches; > > peach-colour > > peach-colour, > > a. the colour of a ripe peach, a soft pale red; > > b. the colour of peach-blossom, a delicate rose or pink; also > attrib. or as adj.; so > > peach-coloured > > peach-coloured a.; > > peach fly > > peach fly = peach aphid; > > peach-house > > peach-house, a building in which peaches are grown under glass; > > peach leaf-curl > > peach leaf-curl, > > a. = leaf-curl, > > b. s.v. leaf sb.1 18; > > peach-leaved > > peach-leaved a., having leaves like the peach; > > peach Melba > > peach Melba: see Melba; > > peach myrtle > > peach myrtle, name for the Australian myrtaceous shrubs of the genus > Hypocalymma, with rose-coloured flowers; > > peach oak > > peach oak, name given to two N. American species of oak, Quercus > densiflora (also chestnut oak or tan-bark oak), and Q. phellos > (willow oak); > > peach-palm > > peach-palm, a species of palm (Guilielma speciosa) found in tropical > south America, bearing a large egg-shaped red-and-orange fruit with > firm flesh which becomes mealy and edible when cooked; > > peach-pip > > peach-pip, > > peach-pit > > -pit, a peach-stone; > > peach-potato aphid > > peach-potato aphid, > > aphis > > aphis, an aphis, Myzus persicæ, which causes leaf-curl in peach > trees and other plants, and also transmits many plant virus > diseases; > > Peach State > > Peach State, a sobriquet of the State of Georgia in the U.S.; > > peach-water > > peach-water, a flavouring extract obtained from peach-leaves, having > a flavour of bitter almonds; > > peach-wood > > peach-wood, a dye-wood (also called Nicaragua wood) resembling > brazil-wood, supposed to be that of some species of Cæsalpinia; > > peach-worm > > peach-worm, one of various caterpillars which infest the leaves of > peach-trees, chiefly in America; > > peach yellows > > peach yellows, a virus disease affecting cultivated peach-trees, > esp. in the United States, in which the leaves become dwarfed, > distorted, and yellowish, and the tree dies in a few years. > > * 1909 F. V. Theobald Insect & Other Allied Pests 324 *Peach > Aphides... At least four species of aphis attack the peach in > this country. > > * 1937 A. M. Massee Pests of Fruit & Hops vii. 163 The Peach > Aphis has been recorded on a very large number of host plants, > including fruit trees. > > * 1942 Phytopathology XXXII. 93 (title) A virosis-like injury of > snapdragons caused by feeding of peach aphid. > > * 1963 Jrnl. Insect Physiol. IX. 875 (title) Some amino acid > requirements of the green peach aphid, Myzus persicae. > > * 1927 *Peach-beige [see grège a. and sb.]. > > * 1597 Gerarde Herbal ii. cxi. 366 Of *Peach bels, and Steeple > bels. > > * 1611 Cotgr., Campanettes blanches, White Peach-bels, or > Steeple-bell-flowers. > > * 1835 G. Field Chromatogr. 265 (Index), Black..Peach-stone 180. > > * 1835 G. Field Chromatogr. xxi. 180 Similar blacks are prepared > of vine twigs and tendrils,..also from peach-stones, &c. whence > Almond black; > > * 1869 T. W. Salter Field's Chromatogr. (new ed.) xxi. 407 *Peach > Black, or Almond Black, made by burning the stones of fruits, > the shell of the cocoa-nut, &c., is a violet-black, once much > used by Parisian artists; > > * 1948 F. A. Staples Watercolour Painting (1951) i. 3 You will > want to add the following to the palette: Raw Sienna,..New Blue > and Peach Black. > > * 1963 Times 6 May 16/3 Many students will remember how much > `Corfi' enjoyed laying a wash of thickly sedimented peach black > and raw sienna on a drawing that had taken weeks to prepare. > > * 1866 Treas. Bot. 854 *Peach-blister, an affection to which > peach-leaves are subject, the leaves becoming thick, bladdery, > and curled. > > * 1711 W. Byrd Secret Diary 9 Sept. (1941) 403 After drinking two > drams of *peach brandy we returned to Mrs. Randolph's. > > * C. 1780 [see apple-brandy]. > > * 1814 Scott Diary 10 Aug. in Lockhart, They could get from an > American trader a bottle of peach-brandy or rum. > > * 1881 E. E. Frewer tr. Holub's Seven Years S. Afr. I. xi. 420 > The next farm..was that belonging to Martin Zwart, whom we > found engaged in distilling peach-brandy. > > * 1965 Amerine & Singleton Wine xvii. 268 Wines were made also > from peaches and distilled into peach brandy. > > * 1976 J. McClure Rogue Eagle vii. 129 As peach brandy goes, this > is among the best sluks I've ever tasted. > > * 1666 Boyle Formes & Qual; i. iii. Wks. 1772 III. 72 A > *peach-bud does..change the sap that comes to it into a fruit > very differing from that which the stock naturally produceth. > > * 1859 Bartlett Dict. Amer. (ed. 2) 90 Cobbler... According to > the fruit, it is an apple or a *peach cobbler. > > * 1880 [see cobbler 4]. > > * 1947 Reader's Digest Apr. 130/2 You could smell a peach cobbler > all through dinner. > > * 1976 National Observer (U.S.) 28 Aug. 14/3 Peach cobbler > (recipe follows). > > * 1599 J. Rider Bibl. Schol. 1709 A *peach colour, persicus > color. > > * 1605 Lond. Prodigal i. B ij b, A peach colour satten shute, Cut > vpon cloath of siluer. > > * 1735 Dict. Polygraph. s.v. Glass, To make a Peach colour in > Glass. > > * 1597 Shaks. 2 Hen. IV, ii. ii. 19 Take note how many paire of > Silk stockings thou hast? (Viz. these, and those that were thy > *peach-colour'd ones.) > > * 1852 Beck's Florist June 131 Daphne Mezereum..pretty > peach-coloured blossoms. > > * 1894 Mrs. Dyan All in a Man's K. (1899) 170 She smoothed one > *peach-down cheek with complacency. > > * 1796 New Ann. Reg. 165 Not the shade Ambrosial, waving its > *peach-flowers that blow To pearly grapes, and kiss the turf > below. > > * 1796 Kirwan Elem. Min. (ed. 2) I. 29 Peach-flower red-pale > whitish red. > > * 1865 Our Young Folks I. 715 The *peach-fly was thus kept from > laying its eggs in the soft bark at the surface of the ground. > > * 1905 Chambers's Jrnl. May 368/1 The peach..is not now > obtainable, through the inroads of the peach-fly. > > * 1971 J. Drummond Farewell Party 8 A great sunset..a wash of > *peach-green that ran across the sky. > > * 1887 Bot. Gaz. XII. 216 (title) The `Curl' of Peach Leaves. > > * 1887 Bot. Gaz. XII. 216 (title Pl. xiii. (caption) )Knowles on > Peach Curl. > > * 1888 Amer. Naturalist XXII. 738 T[aphrina] deformans Tul., > causing the `peach curl' of the leaves of the peach tree. > > * 1899 Bull. Cornell Univ. Agric. Exper. Station CLXIV. 371 > *Peach leaf-curl is a disease which has long been known to the > orchardist as well as to the botanist; and since the seasons of > 1897 and 1898 there are probably very few peach growers..who > are unfamiliar with the disease. > > * 1904 Westm. Gaz. 6 Oct. 10/2 A fungus disease called peach > leaf-curl..does injury to the extent of L600,000 annually in > the United States. > > * 1920 P. J. Fryer Insect Pests & Fungus Dis; xxxv. 557 Peach > Leaf Curl... Plants Attacked. Peaches, nectarines and almonds. > > * 1955 H. Wormald Dis. Fruit & Hops (ed. 3) vii. 172 Peach Leaf > Curl..is found not only on peaches but also on nectarines and > almonds. > > * 1976 Country Life 18 Mar. 685/3 Garlic is said to protect > peaches from peach-leaf curl. > > * 1597 Gerarde Herbal ii. cxi. 366 Campanula Persicifolia. > *Peach-leafed Bell flower..hath a great number of small and > long leaues, rising in a great bush out of the ground, like the > leaues of the Peach tree. > > * 1834 M. Scott Cruise Midge (1863) 169 His downy cheeks as > *peach-like and blooming as ever. > > * 1882 Garden 9 Sept. 230/3 The *Peach Myrtle..is one of the many > beautiful Australian plants. > > * 1835 J. Martin New Gazetteer Virginia 209 *Peach oak (so called > from the resemblance of its leaves to that of the peach tree). > > * 1897 G. B Sudworth Nomencl. Arborescent Flora U.S. 177 Quercus > phellos Linn. Willow Oak... Common Names... Peach Oak (N.J., > Del., Ohio). > > * 1676 T. Glover in Phil. Trans. R. Soc. XI. 628 Here are > likewise great *Peach-Orchards, which bear..an infinite > quantity of Peaches. > > * 1758 Calendar Virginia State Papers (1875) I. 257 We..overtook > them at a peach orchard. > > * C. 1805 D. McClure Diary (1899) 68 Between the house & the bank > of the River was a..peach orchard; > > * A. 1936 Kipling Something of Myself (1937) vi. 170 A > bull-kudu..would jump the seven-foot fence round our little > peach orchard. > > * 1955 W. Moore Bring Jubilee xix. 185, I made my way towards a > farm on which there was a wheat-field and a peach orchard. > > * 1974 Sat. Rev. World (U.S.) 2 Nov. 32/3 A long valley, green > and golden with peach orchards-Canada's peach heartland. > > * 1863 Bates Nat. Amazon x. (1864) 325 The celebrated > `*peach-palm'..is a common tree at Ega. The name, I suppose, is > in allusion to the colour of the fruit, and not to its flavour. > > * 1926 M. Leinster Dew on Leaf i. vii. 97 Ah Dai fingered and > thumbed a fragment of the *peach-pink silk he had unfurled for > her inspection. > > * 1934 A. Huxley Beyond Mexique Bay 2 The last word in cocktail > bars and peach-pink sanitary fittings. > > * 1956 R. Macaulay Towers of Trebizond xiv. 171 Through the > windows I saw the circle of the Circassian mountains, indigo > and brown and peach-pink in the sunset. > > * 1931 K. M. Smith Textbk. Agric. Entomol. vi. 50 (heading) > Potato and Peach Aphis. > > * 1951 New Biol. XI. 51 The *peach-potato aphid..is the main > carrier of the known plant virus diseases throughout the world. > > * 1959 Times 27 July 9/5 The aphids responsible for spreading the > viruses-mainly the peach-potato aphid Myzus persicae-are able > to multiply on the [potato] crop during the summer. > > * 1975 D. S. Hill Agric. Insect Pests of Tropics v. 163/1 > Peach-Potato Aphid... Peach (primary host)... Potato (secondary > host), and polyphagous on many other crop plants and weeds. > > * 1926 M. Leinster Dew on Leaf 114 My unborn son waits to clutch > my heart-strings with *peach-red fingers, with the call of > flesh to flesh. > > * 1935 W. de la Mare Poems, 1919-1934 377 Peach-red carnelian, > apple-green chrysoprase, Amber and coral and orient pearl! > > * 1941 G. E. Shankle State Names (rev. ed.) ii. 110 Georgia was > nicknamed The *Peach State in 1939 because `peaches have been > an important product of Georgia since the middle of the > sixteenth century'. > > * 1954 Nat. Geogr. Mag. Mar. 318/1 Georgia's automobile license > plates carry the legend, `Peach State'. > > * 1970 G. Payton Webster's Dict. Proper Names 515/1 Peach State, > a nickname for Georgia, where peaches are now a valuable crop > in the center and south. > > * 1976 S. Wales Echo 26 Nov. 2/5 With out-of-state tourists > flocking to Jimmy Carter's home town in Plains, Georgia, > officials are looking for ways to lure the visitors to the > peach state's other attractions. > > * 1580 Hollyband Treas. Fr. Tong, Peschenoix, a *Peach stone. > > * 1889 R. Brydall Art in Scot. xiv. 288 [Nasmyth] used largely a > colour he called peach-stone grey, made from calcined > peach-stones. > > * 1822 Imison Sc. & Art II. 186 *Peach-wood gives a colour > inferior to Brazil. > > * 1814 Cramer's Pittsburgh Mag. Almanac 1815 55 (heading) Remedy > for the *Peach Worm. > > * A. 1817 T. Dwight Trav. New-Eng. (1821) I. 76 The Peach Worm > has been known here for about fifty years; and is now become > very common. > > * 1856 Rep. Comm. Patents: Agric. 1855 (U.S. Dept. Agric.) 299 > The ravages of the peach-worm have proved more extensive than > usual. > > * 1808 R. Peters in Mem. Philad. Soc. for Promoting Agric. I. 23 > Mr. H. begins to suffer by the disease, I call the `yellows'. > > * 1808 R. Peters in Mem. Philad. Soc. for Promoting Agric. 24 The > `yellows' are seen making destructive ravages in Mr. Heston's > peach plantation. > > * 1888 Bull. U.S. Dept. Agric. Bot. Div. IX. 9 *Peach yellows > appears to be confined exclusively to the Eastern United > States. > > * 1928 F. T. Brooks Plant Dis. iii. 23 The only means of checking > the spread of Peach Yellows is to destroy affected trees as > soon as seen. > > * 1956 H. W. Anderson Dis. Fruit Crops vii. 265 Peach yellows is > undoubtedly of American origin. > > * 1974 K. M. Smith Plant Viruses (ed. 5) i. 2 Two years later > [sc. 1888], Erwin F. Smith proved that the disease known as > `peach yellows' was also communicable and could be transmitted > by budding.