parch

verb

1. (transitive)To burn the surface of, to scorch.

   “The sun today could parch cement.”

2. (transitive)To roast, as dry grain.

   “Ye shall eat neither bread, nor parched corn.”

3. (transitive)To dry to extremity; to shrivel with heat.

   “The patient’s mouth is parched from fever.”

   “They vvould go over board vvith a Rope faſtned about them, that by drenching themſelves a vvhile in the Sea, they might eaſe the internal Heat vvhich parched them; and vvhen they ſtood any of them to ſteer the Veſſel, they vvould have their Feet in a Pail of Sea VVater to refrigerate 'em.”

   “The last day's march was very painful, for the north wind, blowing full in their faces, parched and benumbed the men.”

4. (colloquial, transitive)To make very thirsty.

   “We're parched, hon. Could you send up an ale from the cooler?”

   “In my haste I stumbled , and fell over one of the wounded; he groaned, and prayed me for a cup of water to cool the thirst that parched him.”

   “Serpents bit them, thirst parched them, Amalekites assailed them.”

   “They had no water on the wreck, and a consuming thirst parched them.”

   “Whether it was the cup he drank from, or the thirst that parched him, he took no thought, but it was the sweetest drink that ever passed his lips.”

5. (archaic, transitive)To boil something slowly (Still used in Lancashire in parched peas, a type of mushy peas).
6. (intransitive)To become superficially burnt; to become sunburned.

   “The locals watched, amused, as the tourists parched in the sun, having neglected to apply sunscreen or bring water.”

noun

1. The condition of being parched.

   “Yet here he is, not at the head, but somewhere toward the rear of the serpentine queue wending its way through all this parch […].”