English

Noun

gâche ‎(plural gâches)

1. (Guernsey) A type of traditional fruitcake. (Often as Guernsey gâche.)
   • 1938, National Geographic, vol.LXXIII:

     A huge Guernsey gache, which is a sort of fruit cake, was flanked by plates and baskets of figs, grapes, nectarines, peaches, and raspberries.

   • 1974, GB Edwards, The Book of Ebenezer Le Page, New York 2007, p. 48:

     She said I could go on the Sunday afternoon, and she would make a gâche I could take to him.

   • 1980, John McCormack, The Guernsey House:

     Baking of bread, gâche – a sort of fruit loaf rather like the Welsh bara brith – and Guernsey biscuits – a kind of bread bun – would be done once a week [...].

   • 2011, Sandra Clayton, Dolphins Under My Bed:

     It is too hot to eat much, so we lunch on bananas and the gache loaf bought the previous day, and set off for Guernsey at half past one.

French

Etymology 1

From Middle French gache ‎(“a mason's tool for mixing, spatula, trowel”), from Old French gaiche ‎(“oar, rowing”), derivative of gaschier ‎(“to wash, soak”), from Old Frankish *waskan, *wascōn ‎(“to wask, bathe”), from Proto-Germanic *waskaną ‎(“to wash”). More at gâcher, wash.

Noun

gâche f ‎(plural gâches)

1. oar
2. trowel

Etymology 2

From Middle French gache, from Old French gaiche, gasche ‎(“spike”), from Old Frankish *gaspia ‎(“buckle, loop”) for *gapsia, *gaupsia, probably allied to Proto-Germanic *gaupaz ‎(“crooked, bent apart”), from Proto-Indo-European *gheub-, *gheubh- ‎(“to bend, bend over, move”). Cognate with Dutch gesp, gespe ‎(“buckle, clasp, loop, hook”), Low German gaspe, gespe, göspe ‎(“loop, hook”), Old English gēap ‎(“bent, crooked, curved, open, wide, extensive”). More at gap, gape, gaff.

Noun

gâche f ‎(plural gâches)

1. (mechanical, of a door) keeper, strike

Etymology 3

Inflected forms.

Verb

gâche

1. first-person singular present indicative of gâcher
2. third-person singular present indicative of gâcher
3. first-person singular present subjunctive of gâcher
4. first-person singular present subjunctive of gâcher
5. second-person singular imperative of gâcher

Etymology 4

Noun

gâche f ‎(plural gâches)

1. (regional, Vendée) A type of local brioche flavoured with orange.
2. (regional, Normandy, Brittany) A type of flat, rounded local bread

Norman

Pronunciation

Noun

gâche f ‎(plural gâches)

1. (Jersey, Guernsey) cake
2. (Guernsey) gâche
   • 2006, Peggy Collenette, ‘D'la gâche de Guernési’, P'tites Lures Guernésiaises, Cromwell Press 2006, p. 20:

     La vieille Louise était embarrassaïe à faire sa pâte pour sa gâche, et v'là daon aen tappe à l'hus.‎

     Old Louise was busy making her dough for her gâche, and there was a knock at the door.

Derived terms