Etymology : Middle English hache, from Old English hæc; akin to Middle Dutch hecke trapdoor
Pronunciation : 'hach
Function : noun
Date : before 12th century
1. brood of hatchlings; emergence from an egg; opening in a wall or floor, opening through which passengers or cargo may pass (especially in a ship); door covering such an opening, trapdoor. emerge from an egg; cause to come out of an egg; incubate; plan, produce, concoct; initiate; draw parallel lines to produce the effect of shading. hatch\hatch\, v. t. to close with a hatch or hatches. 't were not amiss to keep our door hatched.hatch \hatch\, v. i. to produce young; -- said of eggs; to come forth from the egg; -- said of the young of birds, fishes, insects, etc.hatch \hatch\ , v. t. [imp. & p. p. hatched ; p. pr. & vb. n. hatching.] [f. hacher to chop, hack. see:
hash.].
2. to cross with lines in a peculiar manner in drawing and engraving. see:
hatching. shall win this sword, silvered and hatched. those hatching strokes of the pencil.
3. to cross; to spot; to stain; to steep. [obs.] his weapon hatched in blood. & fl.hatch \hatch\, n.
4. the act of hatching.
5. development; disclosure; discovery.
6. the chickens produced at once or by one incubation; a brood.hatch \hatch\, n. [oe. hacche, as. h?c, cf. haca the bar of a door, d. hek gate, sw. h?ck coop, rack, dan. hekke manger, rack. prob. akin to e. hook, and first used of something made of pieces fastened together. cf. heck, hack a frame.].
7. a door with an opening over it; a half door, sometimes set with spikes on the upper edge. in at the window, or else o'er the hatch.
8. a frame or weir in a river, for catching fish.
9. a flood gate; a a sluice gate.
10. a bedstead. [scot.] w. scott.
11. an opening in the deck of a vessel or floor of a warehouse which serves as a passageway or hoistway; a hatchway; also; a cover or door, or one of the covers used in closing such an opening.
12. (mining) an opening into, or in search of, a mine.
13. To cross with lines in a peculiar manner in drawing and engraving.
14. See Hatching.
15. To cross; to spot; to stain; to steep.
16. To produce, as young, from an egg or eggs by incubation, or by artificial heat; to produce young from ; as, the young when hatched.
17. To contrive or plot; to form by meditation, and bring into being; to originate and produce; to concoct; as, to hatch mischief; to hatch heresy.
18. To produce young; said of eggs; to come forth from the egg; said of the young of birds, fishes, insects, etc.
19. The act of hatching.
20. Development; disclosure; discovery.
21. The chickens produced at once or by one incubation; a brood.
22. A door with an opening over it; a half door, sometimes set with spikes on the upper edge.
23. A frame or weir in a river, for catching fish.
24. A flood gate; a sluice gate.
25. A bedstead.
26. An opening in the deck of a vessel or floor of a warehouse which serves as a passageway or hoistway; a hatchway; also; a cover or door, or one of the covers used in closing such an opening.
27. An opening into, or in search of, a mine.
28. To close with a hatch or hatches. a movable barrier covering a hatchway shading consisting of multiple crossing lines the production of young from an egg emerge from the eggs; "young birds, fish, and reptiles hatch" draw, cut, or engrave lines, usually parallel, on metal, wood, or paper; "hatch the sheet" inlay with narrow strips or lines of a different substance such as gold or silver, for the purpose of decorating.
29. 1. When a baby bird, insect, or other animal hatches, or when it is hatched, it comes out of its egg by breaking the shell. As soon as the two chicks hatch, they leave the nest burrow The young disappeared soon after they were hatched.
30. When an egg hatches or when a bird, insect, or other animal hatches an egg, the egg breaks open and a baby comes out. The eggs hatch after a week or ten days During these periods the birds will lie on the cage floor as if trying to lay or hatch eggs.
31. If you hatch a plot or a scheme, you think of it and work it out. He has accused opposition parties of hatching a plot to assassinate the Pope.
32. A hatch is an opening in the deck of a ship, through which people or cargo can go. You can also refer to the door of this opening as a hatch. He stuck his head up through the hatch.
33. A hatch is an opening in a ceiling or a wall, especially between a kitchen and a dining room, which you can pass something such as food through.
34. If someone battens down the hatches, they prepare themselves so that they will be able to survive a coming difficulty or crisis. Many firms are battening down the hatches and preparing to ride out the storm. A fine line used in hatching.