pitch [OE] Of the two pitch words in English, one is simple in its meaning and history and the other complex and obscure. The name of the sticky dark substance goes back to Latin pix. The other pitch [ME] has senses ranging from ‘the quality of a sound’ through ‘an area of ground for a game’ to ‘to aim at a target’. The ultimate origin is unknown and historical development unclear. In the original military sense a pitched battle (M16th as ‘pitched (battle) field’) is one fought between large formations of troops which is more or less confined to one location, as contrasted with a chance skirmish or a running battle, and seems to be a development of the sense ‘fixed’ as in ‘pitched tent’.