noun, feminine/lɔʃ/plural: loches
one of the several species of giant slugs belonging to the families Arionidae and Limacidae; one of the several species of loach belonging to a number of different orders
Inherited from Middle French loche, from Old French loche, further origin unknown: * Perhaps from Vulgar Latin *laukka (“loach”), which could be from Gaulish *leuka (“loach, slug”), also attested as the feminine name Leuca, from leux (“bright, light”), a reference to slugs' bright appearance, the fish later being associated due to similarities to the slug. * Alternatively, perhaps from Frankish *loppijā, *lobbijā (“something lumpy, slow, or clumsy”), from Proto-Germanic *lubbǭ, from Proto-Indo-E