Watch is native, from Old English wæccan, "to keep watch, be awake," from a Germanic root meaning "to be strong, be lively." It is essentially the same word as Old English wacian, which gives modern wake — watching and waking were one idea, since to watch was originally simply to stay awake.
The -tch spelling is the English convention for that sound after a short vowel, matching ditch, fetch and catch, and it is a fair sign of a native word. The senses developed outward from wakefulness: being vigilant by about 1200, standing guard by the late 1300s, observing something closely by the mid-1400s. The timepiece is named from the same idea — a watch was first a device to wake you, and then a clock small enough to carry while keeping watch.
watch (v.) Middle English wacchen , from Old English wæccan "keep watch, be awake," from Proto-Germanic *wakjan , from PIE root *weg- "to be strong, be lively." Essentially the same word as Old English wacian "be or remain awake" (see wake (v.)); perhaps a Northumbrian form of it. The meaning "be vigilant" is from c. 1200. That of "to guard (someone or some place), stand guard" is late 14c. The sense of "to observe, keep under observance" is mid-15c. To watch out "be on one's guard" is by 1845, U.S. colloquial. Watch it! as a warning is attested by 1916. Related: Watched ; watching . watch (n.) Middle English wacche , from Old English wæcce "a watching, state of being or remaining awake, wakefulness;" also "act or practice of refraining from sleep for devotional or penitential purposes;" from wæccan "keep watch, be awake," from Proto-Germanic *wakjan , from PIE root *weg- "to be strong, be lively." The meaning "small timepiece" is from 1580s, developing from that of "a clock to wake up sleepers" (mid-15c.). From c. 1200 as "one of the periods into which the night is divided," in reference to ancient times translating Latin vigilia , Greek phylak ē , Hebrew ashmoreth . From mid-13c. as "a shift of guard duty; an assignment as municipal watchman;" late 13c. as "person or group obligated to patrol a town (especially at night) to keep order, etc." Also in Middle English, "the practice of remaining awake at night for purposes of debauchery and dissipation;" hence wacches of wodnesse "late-night revels and debauchery." The alliterative combination watch-and-ward for the old custom of keeping order in cities and towns preserves the distinction of watch for night-time municipal patrols and ward (n.) for guarding by day; in combination, they mean "continuous vigilance." The military sense of "military guard, sentinel" is from late 14c. Also in early 18c. as a designation of certain irregular troops in the Scottish Highlands. The general sense of "careful observation, watchfulness, vigilance" is from late 14c.; to keep watch is from late 14c. The meaning "period of time in which a division of a ship's crew remains on deck" is from 1580s. The Hebrews divided the night into three watches, the Greeks usually into four (sometimes five), the Romans (followed by the Jews in New Testament times) into four. [OED] On þis niht beð fowuer niht wecches: Biforen euen þe bilimpeð to children; Mid-niht ðe bilimpeð to frumberdlinges; hanecrau þe bilimpeð þowuene men; morgewile to alde men. [Trinity Homilies, c. 1200]
watch came in through Old English, and its spelling follows that family's conventions.
How that family writes these sounds
| /tʃ/ after a short vowel | -tchwatch, fetch, ditch |
Old English in the spelling guide · guess another word's family