patch
n. countablen. a small piece of material used to cover a hole or strengthen a weak spot. It can also be a small area that is different from the space around it, like a patch of grass.
n. a small area of a surface that differs from the surrounding area in texture, color, or composition. Also refers to a piece of material used to mend a hole or a software update designed to fix bugs.
She sewed a leather patch onto the elbow of her jacket.
The gardener noticed a dry patch of brown grass in the middle of the otherwise green lawn.
After the security breach, the IT department worked through the night to deploy a critical patch that would prevent further unauthorized access to the server.
From Middle English patche, of uncertain origin. Perhaps an alteration of earlier Middle English placche (“patch, spot, piece of cloth”), from Old English plæċċ, pleċċ (“a spot, mark, patch”), from Proto-West Germanic plakkju, from Proto-Germanic plakjō (“spot, stain”). For the loss of l compare pat from Middle English platten. Germanic cognates would then include Middle English plecke, dialectal English pleck (“plot of ground, patch”), West Frisian plak (“place, spot”), Low German Plakk, Plakke (“spot, piece, patch”), Dutch plek (“spot, place, stain, patch”), Dutch plak (“piece, slab”), Swedish plagg (“garment”), Faroese plagg (“cloth, rag”). Or, possibly a variant of Old French pieche, dialectal variant of piece (“piece”). Compare also Old Occitan petaç (“patch”).
Perhaps borrowed from Italian pazzo or paggio; the form influenced by folk etymological association with patch (Etymology 1).
Often used with the preposition 'of' when describing a specific area, such as a 'patch of ice' or a 'patch of sunlight'.