To burn something with fire or destroy it completely by setting it on fire.
From Old French 'torche,' meaning a twisted roll of material used as a light source. The verb developed from the noun, with the meaning evolving from 'to light with a torch' to 'to set on fire' by the 1600s.
The ancient Romans used torches made of twisted papyrus soaked in pitch—the word 'torch' literally comes from these bundles of fire. Today when someone 'torches' something, they're evoking thousands of years of fire-carrying humans.
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