Etymograph

English

peach

Peach comes from Middle English peche ‘a peach’, and goes back to Vulgar Latin *pessica.

  1. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*pessica1reconstructed
  2. Old Frenchc. 842–1400pesche1‘peach (fruit)’
  3. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600pesche2
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500peche1‘a peach’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1768peach1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English peach
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Middle English peche
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1768, M. Combles, A Treatise Upon the Culture of Peach Trees: “I think it the best way to plant the…”.

Lineage

  1. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*pessicaWiktionary, English peachreconstructed
  2. Old Frenchc. 842–1400pescheWiktionary, English peach‘peach (fruit)’
  3. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600pescheWiktionary, Middle English peche
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500pecheWiktionary, English peach‘a peach’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1768peachWiktionary, English peach. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1768, M. Combles, A Treatise Upon the Culture of Peach Trees: “I think it the best way to plant the…”

Every English word from Vulgar Latin *pessica

Today it means

noun Any tree of species Prunus persica, native to China and now widely cultivated throughout temperate regions, having pink flowers and edible fruit.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “peach”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Middle English peche. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Vulgar Latin *pessica / peach

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