English word origin

Etymology of sitch

From Middle English sich, siche, from Old English sīċ (“a watercourse; sike”), from Proto-West Germanic *sīk, from Proto-Germanic *sīką (“slow flowing water; a trickle”).

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗

In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗

noun

A brook; an occasional small waterway: a ditch, a gutter or drain; a ravine.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English sich, siche, from Old English sīċ (“a watercourse; sike”), from Proto-West Germanic *sīk, from Proto-Germanic *sīką (“slow flowing water; a trickle”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inherited-form mentionsichenm
Inherited-form mentionsīċang · a watercourse; sike
Inherited-form mention*sīkgmw-pro
Inherited-form mention*sīkągem-pro · slow flowing water; a trickle

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "sich"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English sich"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "sīċ",
        "t": "a watercourse; sike"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English sīċ (“a watercourse; sike”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*sīk"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *sīk"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*sīką",
        "t": "slow flowing water; a trickle"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *sīką (“slow flowing water; a trickle”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "sich",
      "sich#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "siche",
      "siche#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "sīċ",
      "sic#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*sīk",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/sīk"
    ],
    [
      "*sīką",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/sīką"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A brook; an occasional small waterway: a ditch, a gutter or drain; a ravine."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "dialectal"
      ],
      "recordId": "14c5e27b61729a268f104cc90445ca1aebecc99b08e3e9d6b589acb33398b00f",
      "rawRecordSha256": "54226c5f6a39ab987b5508802cff22509199fd2b8999993d5f5bd0247b61d846",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 3186336
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗

noun

A situation.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Clipping of situation, with phonetic respelling.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "clipping",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "situation"
      },
      "expansion": "Clipping of situation"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "situation",
      "situation#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A situation."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "slang"
      ],
      "recordId": "d1da879b9a42a650a241a4eec1aef95aaea3c3c0575ba2d2b5c09066f075cb30",
      "rawRecordSha256": "ebea0200c15cc01530855ca866771c771d07c2786127033076bdd8ed0d62797b",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 3186337
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
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    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for sitch →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger

Machine-source provenance

Source SHA-256: 5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run: 73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID: w-c2l0Y2g