-watch

-watch
-watch
The noun watch, meaning ‘a state of alert’, first produced a suffix (or combining form) in the 1950s, and is known earlier in verbs such as firewatch (a term from the Second World War), but it is essentially a creation of the 70s (doomwatch) and 80s in combinations to do with animal welfare such as badger-watch, birdwatch, and whale-watch, and in other uses such as crimewatch (the name of a UK television programme), hacker-watch (precaution against computer hackers) and stormwatch. Other ad hoc uses occur, establishing -watch as a productive element within fairly narrow limits:

• Family-sized platters contain an entire chicken or spaghetti for eight.…No reservations, so prepare to people-watch while you wait —Minnesota Monthly, 1994

• Are there no dog watch organisations to make sure that dog prices don't shoot up too high? —Bolton Evening News, 2005.


Modern English usage. 2014.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Watch — (w[o^]ch), n. [OE. wacche, AS. w[ae]cce, fr. wacian to wake; akin to D. wacht, waak, G. wacht, wache. [root]134. See {Wake}, v. i. ] [1913 Webster] 1. The act of watching; forbearance of sleep; vigil; wakeful, vigilant, or constantly observant… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • watch — [wäch, wôch] n. [ME wacche < OE wæcce < base of wacian: see WAKE1] 1. the act or fact of keeping awake, esp. of keeping awake and alert, in order to look after, protect, or guard 2. a) any of the several periods into which the night was… …   English World dictionary

  • Watch — Watch, v. i. [Cf. AS. w[oe]ccan, wacian. [root]134. See {Watch}, n., {Wake}, v. i. ] [1913 Webster] 1. To be awake; to be or continue without sleep; to wake; to keep vigil. [1913 Webster] I have two nights watched with you. Shak. [1913 Webster]… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • watch — [n1] clock worn on body analog watch, chronometer, digital watch, pocket watch, stopwatch, ticker*, timepiece, timer, wristwatch; concept 463 watch [n2] lookout alertness, attention, awareness, duty, eagle eye*, eye*, gander, guard, hawk, heed,… …   New thesaurus

  • watch — ► VERB 1) look at attentively. 2) keep under careful or protective observation. 3) exercise care, caution, or restraint about. 4) (watch for) look out for. 5) (watch out) be careful. 6) maintain an interest i …   English terms dictionary

  • Watch — bezeichnet: Watch (Fernsehsender), britischer Fernsehsender The Watch, italienische Progressive Rock Gruppe Siehe auch Black Watch UN Watch Watch Island Watch Valley …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Watch — unix утилита, запускает и следит за программой через фиксированные интервалы времени. Если интервал не задан с помощью опции n , то команда будет запускаться каждые 2 секунды. Завершить программу можно с помощью нажатия соответствующих клавиш… …   Википедия

  • Watch — Watch, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Watched}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Watching}.] [1913 Webster] 1. To give heed to; to observe the actions or motions of, for any purpose; to keep in view; not to lose from sight and observation; as, to watch the progress of a… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • watch — watch  unix утилита, запускает и следит за программой через фиксированные интервалы времени. Если интервал не задан с помощью опции n, то команда будет запускаться каждые 2 секунды. Завершить программу можно с помощью нажатия соответствующих …   Википедия

  • Watch Me — «Watch Me» Sencillo de Shake It Up del álbum Break It Down Publicación 21 de junio de 2011 …   Wikipedia Español

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