fitch

English

Etymology 1

Shortening of fitchew, or directly borrowed from its antecedent, Middle Dutch vitsche (“polecat”). More at fitchew.

Noun

fitch (plural fitches)

1. A polecat, such as the European polecat (Mustela putorius), the striped polecat, steppe polecat, or black-footed polecat of America.
   • 1914, Herbert Greenhough Smith, The Strand Magazine, page 510:

     The more beautiful of the two comes from a North American species, the black-footed pole-cat (No. 3), which is creamy yellow, sprinkled with black. Made-up skins of this species are sold as "natural fitch" to distinguish them from those of the common fitch, which are generally dyed. The finest skins of this pole-cat, now nearly extinct in Great Britain, are procured from the colder parts of Russia and Siberia.

   • 1922, American Furrier, page 23:

     Not only as it been quite difficult to eliminate the yellow tinge from the dyed fur, but practically every fur dyer has had to admit his inability to make the dyed fitch permanent in color or prevent it from very quickly turning or fading to a sickening shade of red […]

   • 1936, Journal of Mammalogy, volumes 17-18, page 327:

     Putorius eversmanni michnoi Kastsch, Transbaikalian steppe fitch. No specimens were collected by the Expedition, but a single skull of an adult male was received from a Russian trapper who secured it during the past […]

   • 1948, Kay Hardy, Costume Design:

     Striped fitch has coarser hair and is not so valuable.

2. A skin of a polecat.
   • 1914, Ford Madox Ford, The English Review:

     For those who cannot afford the luxury of real fur, the most picturesque and delightful substitute is offered in stoles and muffs made up of plush-pony skin trimmed with a piece of natural fitch set slant-ways across the front of the muff […]

Translations

European polecat — see European polecat

Etymology 2

See vetch.

Noun

fitch (plural fitches)

1. (obsolete) Alternative form of vetch
   • 1640, John Parkinson, Theatrum Botanicum, London: Thomas Cotes, page 226:

     1. Colutæa vesicaria vulgaris sylvestris. Ordinary Bastard Sene with bladders.
     This greater Bastard Sene groweth in time to be a tree of a reasonable greatnesse, the stem or trunck being of the bignesse of a mans arme or greater, covered with a blackish greene ragged barke, the wood whereof is harder then of an Elder, but with a pith in the middle of the branches which are divided many wayes, having divers winged leaves composed of many small round pointed or rather flat pointed leaves, set at severall distances, and somewhat like unto Licoris, or the Hatchet fitch, among which come forth yellow flowers like unto Broome flowers and as large; after which come thinne swelling cods, like unto thinne transparent bladders; wherein are conteined blacke seede set upon a middle ribbe within the bladders, which being alittle crushed betweene the fingers, will give a cracke like a bladder full of winde: the roote groweth great and wooddy, branching forth divers wayes.

   • 1744, Thomas Tusser, Tusser redivivus. Five hundred points of husbandry ... To which are added, Notes and observations by Daniel Hilman explaining many obsolete terms, etc:

     Fitches or Vetches are of divers Sorts, of which before; but since our Author's Time, several new Grasses have been found out, which supply the same Defect. Those which are most in Request, at present are, Clove, Ray-grass, Nonesuch and St. Fein.

   • 1764, Duhamel du Monceau, translated by Philip Miller, The Elements of Agriculture, volume 1, page 265:

     If these plants are young, the weeders do not see them; and in this case, when they grow larger, the land must be again weeded. But the small plants, which are not less prejudicial, such as the wild Fitch, the wild Oat, Darnel, Fennel-flower, Knot-grass, Restharrow, Fox-tail, the several sorts of Bindweed, (Convolvulus) and all the small Poppies, remain in the field.

   • 2019, G. E. Fussell, The English Dairy Farmer: 1500-1900:

     Snail clover (sainfoin), gallion or petty muggalt, wild fitch and haver (oat) grass were all recommended as profitable forage, but what the second was I do not know.

References

• “fitch”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.