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parch

1. To burn the surface of; to scorch; to roast over the fire, as dry grain; as, to parch the skin; to parch corn. Ye shall eat neither bread, nor parched corn. (Lev. Xxiii. 14)

2. To dry to extremity; to shrivel with heat; as, the mouth is parched from fever. The ground below is parched. (Dryden)

Origin: OE. Perchen to pierce, hence used of a piercing heat or cold, OF. Perchier, another form of percier, F. Percer. See Pierce.