[app. a variant of LURK v. The relation between the two forms is obscure; it is not analogous to that between birch and birk, church and kirk, beseech and seek, etc., where the OE. form has umlaut. The development of sense somewhat resembles that of FORESTALL v., but has perh. been influenced by LURCH sb.1 or v.2]
† 1. intr. To remain in or about a place furtively or secretly, esp. with evil design. (Cf. FORESTALL v. 1.) Also, ? to avoid company, ? to sulk. Obs.
c. 1420. Chron. Vilod., 1377. Þen come þe sexsten to serche þe chirche … & sey hem in an hyron þere so lorche.
1570. Levins, Manip., 190/33. To Lurche, latitare.
1575. R. B., Apius & Virginia, E j b. Then gallope to see where her father doth lurche.
1598. Shaks., Merry W., II. ii. 26. I my selfe … hiding mine honor in my necessity, am faine to shuffle, to hedge, and to lurch.
1589. Puttenham, Eng. Poesie, III. xix. (Arb.), 220. For when he is merry, she lurcheth and she loures, When he is sad she singes, or laughes it out by houres.
1630. J. Taylor (Water P.), Wks., II. 117/1. There’s a crue of Thieues that prie and lurch, And steals and share the liuings of the Church.
1632. Brome, Novella, II. ii. I’le turne you off … To lurch i’ th’ night betwixt eleaven and two To rob and drown for prey.
a. 1677. Barrow, Serm., xxviii. Wks. 1687, I. 376. Not at least to be as a Fox or a Wolf; either cunningly lurching, or violently ravening for prey.
1692. R. L’Estrange, Fables, xii. 12. While the One was upon Wing, the other stood Lurching upon the Ground, and flew away with the Fish.
1727. Somerville, Dainty new Ballad, 14. For Love, that little urchin About this widow lurching, Had slily fix’d his dart.
1749. Fielding, Tom Jones, VI. x. The son of a whore came lurching about the house.
1790. Potter, Dict. Cant (1795), Lurch, to lay by, to sneak, to hang on.
b. Of greyhounds: (See quot. 1897).
1824. Byron, Juan, XVI. lxxx. Whose hounds ne’er err’d, nor greyhounds deign’d to lurch.
1856. ‘Stonehenge,’ Brit. Sports, I. III. ii. § 3 (ed. 2), 155. [Greyhounds.] Remember that too much knowledge or cleverness soon leads to lurching.
1897. Encycl. Sport, I. 210/1. Lurching, of the greyhound; running cunning, and leaving the most part of the work to its opponent.
2. trans. To get the start of (a person) so as to prevent him from obtaining a fair share of food, profit, etc. In later use, to defraud, cheat, rob. Obs. exc. arch.
1530. Palsgr., 616/1. I lurtche, as one dothe his felowes at meate with eatynge to hastyly, je briffe. Syt nat at his messe, for he wyll lurtche you than.
1568. Abp. Parker, Corr. (Parker Soc.), 337. I pray your honour be a mean that Jugge only may have the preferment of this edition; for if any other should lurch him to steal from him these copies, he were a great loser.
1573. Tusser, Husb., xxiii. (1878), 61. Yoong colts with thy wennels together go serue, least lurched by others they happen to sterue.
1592. Greene, Def. Conny Catch. (1859), 18. Was not this an old Cony catcher … that could lurtch a poore Conny of so many thousands at one time?
1604. Middleton, Father Hubburd’s Tales, Wks. (Bullen), VIII. 94. Where like villanous cheating bowlers, they lurched me of two of my best limbs.
1607. Shaks., Cor., II. ii. 105. And in the brunt of seuenteene Battailes since, He lurcht all Swords of the Garland.
1609. B. Jonson, Sil. Wom., V. iv. You haue lurch’d your friends of the better halfe of the garland.
1810. Scott, Lady of L., VI. v. And ’tis right of his office poor laymen to lurch, Who infringe the domains of our good Mother Church.
† 3. To be beforehand in securing (something); to consume (food) hastily so that others cannot have their share; to engross, monopolize (commodities); in later use, to get hold of by stealth, pilfer, filch, steal. (Cf. FORESTALL v. 2.) Obs.
c. 1550. Disc. Common Weal Eng. (1893), 32. Ye lurched some of the coyne as sone as euer ye perceived the price of that to be enhaunced.
1568. V. Skinner, Montanus’ Inquisition, 39 b. Some of ye meat which he had lurched from the prisoners.
1587. Turberv., Trag. T. (1837), 23. Her christall eyes had lurcht his yielding heart.
1599. Broughton’s Let., viii. 28. Bel his priests priuily lurched the viands, which were supposed to be deuoured by the Idoll.
1613. F. Robarts, Rev. Gosp., Title-p., The sacred offering broyles: the eagle spies, A gob she lurch’d, and to her young she flies.
1622. S. Ward, Christ All in All (1627), 31. Oh how difficult is this for vs, not to lurch some part of the praise.
1625. Bacon, Ess., Building (Arb.), 548. Too farre off from great Cities, which may hinder Businesse; Or too neare them, which Lurcheth all Prouisions, and maketh euery Thing deare.
1630. R. Johnson’s Kingd. & Commw., To Rdr. A ij. How much hath that … Plagiarie … closely lurcht out of this Author?
1642. Vicars, God in Mount (1644), 39. Clergy-trash, who lay lurking in the Bee-hives of the Church, and lurching away the sweet honey from the laborious Bees.
1660. Milton, Free Commw., Wks. 1738, I. 595. If we can keep us from the fond Conceit … put lately into many Mens heads by some one or other suttly driving on under that notion his own ambitious ends to lurch a Crown.
† b. absol. Obs.
1593. Nashe, Christ’s T. (1613), 66. The Sonne could scarce refraine from biting out his Fathers throate-boule, when he saw him swallow downe a bit that he died for. The Mother lurcht from them both.
1620. Middleton, Chaste Maid, III. ii. See how they lurch at the lower end.
1640. Bp. Hall, Chr. Moder., I. xi. 104. Wherein had he been a thiefe, if he had not … meant to lurch out of the common Treasury?
4. To catch (rabbits) by means of lurchers.
1727. Mather, Yng. Man’s Companion, 12. He lurches Conies. [Given as an example of the word.]
1798. [see LURCHING vbl. sb.1 2].
5. Comb.: † lurch-church (see quot.); † lurch-line, ‘the line of a fowling-net, by which it was pulled over to enclose the birds’ (Nares); † lurch-man (nonce-wd.), a pilferer.
1578. Mirr. Mag., Harold, xii. Let hym go beate the bushe, I and my men to the lurche line will steale, And pluck the Net.
1603. Breton, Mad World (Grosart), 12/2. These may rather be called lurch-men then Church-men, who as they are not troubled with much learning, so they have no more honesty, then they may well away withall.
c. 1700. De la Pryme, Hist. Holy Trin. Ch. Hull, 321 (MS.). When a man that’s in orders go’s voluntarily and preaches in a Church to which he was never … instituted … our law gives him no title to the tithes but calls him a Lurch Church.
