leech

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See also: Leech and léëch

English

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WOTD – 30 August 2012
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A leech (animal).

Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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From Middle English leche (“blood-sucking worm”), from Old English lǣċe (“blood-sucking worm”), akin to Middle Dutch lāke ("blood-sucking worm"; > modern Dutch laak).

Noun

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leech (plural leeches)

  1. An aquatic blood-sucking annelid of class Hirudinea, especially Hirudo medicinalis.
    • 2003, William W. Johnstone, The Last Of The Dog Team, page 195:
      The leech on his leg had swelled to more than five inches long, puffed and swollen on his blood.
  2. (figuratively) A person who derives profit from others in a parasitic fashion.
    • 2000, Ray Garmon, The Man Who Just Didn't Care, page 20:
      'Wrecked his body and his mind, no use to hisself or his family or nobody, just a leech on society'.
    • 2006, D. L. Harman, A State of Nine One One, page 106:
      At this point, I felt this man was a leech. I suspected that he had spent a lifetime living off the good will of women that he met.
  3. (medicine, dated) A glass tube designed for drawing blood from damaged tissue by means of a vacuum.
Synonyms
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Derived terms
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Translations
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Verb

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leech (third-person singular simple present leeches, present participle leeching, simple past and past participle leeched)

  1. (transitive, literally) To apply a leech medicinally, so that it sucks blood from the patient.
    • 2003, George R.R. Martin, A Storm of Swords:
      The poppy made him sleep and while he slept they leeched him to drain off the bad blood.
  2. (transitive, figuratively) To drain (resources) without giving back.
    Near-synonyms: mooch, suck down
    Bert leeched hundreds of files from the BBS, but never uploaded anything in return.
    • 2024 September 6, Anna McKibbin, “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice reinvigorates Tim Burton’s stale brand, returning to practical playfulness”, in AV Club‎[1]:
      Her daughter Astrid (new Tim Burton muse Jenna Ortega) barely speaks to her, and her greasy-haired boyfriend Rory (Justin Theroux, proving once again to be a comedic tour de force) obviously leeching off her fame and money
Usage notes
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Not to be confused with the verb leach.

Synonyms
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  • (to drain resources): drain
Derived terms
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Translations
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Etymology 2

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From Middle English leche (“physician”), from Old English lǣċe (“doctor, physician”), from Proto-West Germanic *lākī, from Proto-Germanic *lēkijaz (“doctor”), of disputed origin, but usually thought to be connected with Proto-Celtic (compare Old Irish líaig (“charmer, exorcist, physician”)) and Serbo-Croatian ljèkār, Polish lekarz (“physician, doctor”); perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *leǵ- (“to collect, gather”).

Cognate with Old Frisian lētza (“physician”), Old Saxon lāki (“physician”), Old High German lāhhi (“doctor, healer”), Danish læge (“doctor, surgeon”), Gothic 𐌻𐌴𐌺𐌴𐌹𐍃 (lēkeis, “physician”).

Noun

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leech (plural leeches)

  2. (archaic) A physician.
    • 1590, Edmund Spenser, “(please specify the book)”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:
      Many skillful leeches him abide to salve his hurts.
    • 1610, Bolton, Armoriesː
      The word Physitian we do vulgarly abuse (as we doe very many other(s)) for a Leech , or Medicus.
    • 1610, Bolton, Armoriesː
      As if an expert leech must needs be expert in the physicks (that is, in those speculations which concerne the workes of nature) the nearest word to fall with our tongue, yet not farre from the thing, was physitian.
    • 1662 (indicated as 1663), [Samuel Butler], “[The First Part of Hudibras]”, in Hudibras. The First and Second Parts. […], London: […] John Martyn and Henry Herringman, […], published 1678, →OCLC; republished in A[lfred] R[ayney] Waller, editor, Hudibras: Written in the Time of the Late Wars, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: University Press, 1905, →OCLC, page 2:
      Thus virtuous Orsin was endued / With learning, conduct, fortitude / Incomparable; and as the prince / Of poets, Homer, sung long since, / A skilful leech is better far, / Than half a hundred men of war [...]
    • 1807, George Crabbeː, (Please provide the book title or journal name):
      Can this proud leech, with all his boasted skill, / Amend the soul or body, wit or will?
    • 1850, Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter, a Romance, Boston, Mass.: Ticknor, Reed, and Fields, →OCLC, page 146:
      For the sake of the minister’s health, and to enable the leech to gather plants with healing balm in them, they took long walks on the seashore or in the forest; mingling various talk with the plash and murmur of the waves, and the solemn wind anthem among in treetops.
    • 1992, Hilary Mantel, A Place of Greater Safety, Harper Perennial, published 2007, page 11:
      He coughed sputum stained with blood, and a scraping, crackling noise came from his chest, quite audible to anyone in the room. ‘Lungs possibly not too good,’ the leech said.
  3. (Germanic paganism) A healer.
    • 1900, Augustus Henry Keane, Man, Past and Present, Cambridge: The University Press:
      Their functions are threefold, those of the medicine-man (the leech, or healer by supernatural means); of the soothsayer (the prophet through communion with the invisible world); and of the priest, especially in his capacity as exorcist
    • 1996, Swain Wodening, “Scandinavian Craft Lesson 6: Runic Divination”, Theod Magazine 3 (4)
      In ancient times runesters were a specialized class separate from that of the witch or ordinary spell caster (much as the other specialists such as the leech or healer and the seithkona were different from a witch), and even today many believe it takes years of training to become adept at using the runes in spell work.
    • 2003, Brian Froud, Ari Berk, The Runes of Elfland, Pavillion Books, →ISBN, page 22:
      "Leech?" "Not another doctor".
    • 2004, Runic John, The Book of Seidr, Capall Bann Publishing, →ISBN, page 282:
      There are many kinds of "Leech" or "healer" as there are healing techniques, some are more powerful than others and some are very specific to certain illnesses and complaints; some use potions and unguents, others crystals and stones, others galdr and some work their healing from within the hidden realms themselves.
Synonyms
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Derived terms
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Translations
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Etymology 3

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From Middle English lechen (“to cure, heal, treat”), from Middle English leche (“doctor, physician”). Compare Swedish läka (“to heal”).

Verb

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leech (third-person singular simple present leeches, present participle leeching, simple past and past participle leeched)

  1. (archaic, rare) To treat, cure or heal.
    • 1564, Accounts of Louth Corporalː
      Paid for leeching.. my horses very sick.
    • 1566–74, Accounts of the Treasurer of Scotlandː
      To one man (that) broke his leg in Strivelin … Item to the man that leecheth him.
    • 1707, J[ohn] Mortimer, The Whole Art of Husbandry; or, The Way of Managing and Improving of Land. […], London: […] J[ohn] H[umphreys] for H[enry] Mortlock […], and J[onathan] Robinson […], →OCLC:
      though there are many Pretenders to the Art of Farriering and Cow-leeching, yet many of them are very ignorant , especially in the Countrie
    • 1850, Blackieː
      A disease that none may leech.
Synonyms
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Derived terms
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References
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Etymology 4

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From Middle English lek, leche, lyche, from Old Norse lík (“leechline”), from Proto-West Germanic *līk, from Proto-Germanic *līką (compare West Frisian lyk (“band”), Dutch lijk (“boltrope”), Middle High German geleich (“joint, limb”)), from Proto-Indo-European *leyǵ- ‘to bind’ (compare Latin ligō (“tie, bind”), Ukrainian нали́гати (nalýhaty, “to bridle, fetter”), Albanian lidh (“to bind”), Hittite link- (caus. linganu-) ‘to swear’ (with -n- infix).

Noun

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leech (plural leeches)

  2. (nautical) The vertical edge of a square sail.
    • 1984, Sven Donaldson, A Sailor's Guide to Sails, page 130:
      To help combat these problems, almost all sailmakers trim the leeches of their headsails to a hollow or concave profile and enclose a LEECHLINE within the leech tabling.
  3. (nautical) The aft edge of a triangular sail.
    • 2004, Gary Jobson, Gary Jobson's Championship Sailing, page 176:
      Trim the leech of the jib parallel to the main by watching the slot between the mainsail and the jib.
Derived terms
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Translations
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See also
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Anagrams

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Central Franconian

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Middle High German līht, from Proto-Germanic *linhtaz. The form shows shortening before -ht followed by later lengthening in the same position (cf. the same in Luxembourgish liicht). The Colognian form leich is probably influenced by Standard German (reinforced by analogy with words where Colognian has -ei- for other Ripuarian -ee-, from Middle High German -ei-).

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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leech (masculine leechte, feminine and plural leechte or leech, comparative leechter, superlative et leechste) (central and eastern Ripuarian)

  1. light, not heavy
  2. easy, not difficult

Inflection

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Inflection example for leech (Kölsch and central Ripuarian)
  masculine neuter feminine plural
positive
predicative / adverbial leech
common
case 		strong leechte leech leechte
weak leechte
partitive leechtes —
dative
case 		initial leechtem leechter leechte
non-initial leechte
comparative
predicative / adverbial leechter
common
case 		strong leechtere leechter
weak
partitive leechteres —
dative
case 		initial leechterem leechterer leechtere
non-initial leechtere
superlative
predicative / adverbial et leechste
common
case 		strong leechste
weak
dative
case 		initial leechstem leechster leechste
non-initial leechste
Strong (indefinite) and weak (definite) forms are distinguished in the neuter common case. The partitive form follows certain indefinite pronouns like jet (“something”). In the singular dative, there is a simpler distinction between “initial” and “non-initial” position, depending on whether the adjective is the first declined word of the noun phrase or not.

West Frisian

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Etymology 1

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From Old Frisian lēch, from Proto-Germanic *lēgaz, *lēgijaz. Cognate with English low, Scots laigh, Low German leeg, Dutch laag.

Adjective

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leech

  1. low
Inflection
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Inflection of leech
uninflected leech
inflected lege
comparative leger
positive comparative superlative
predicative/adverbial leech leger it leechst
it leechste
indefinite c. sing. lege legere leechste
n. sing. leech leger leechste
plural lege legere leechste
definite lege legere leechste
partitive leechs legers —
Further reading
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  • “leech (I)”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011

Etymology 2

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From Old Frisian lethich, from Proto-Germanic *liþugaz. Cognate with English lithy, Low German leddig, Dutch leeg, German ledig.

Adjective

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leech

  1. empty
    De opfrege sidetitel wie ûnjildich, leech, of ferkeard keppele.
    The requested page title was invalid, empty or improperly linked.
Inflection
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Inflection of leech
uninflected leech
inflected lege
comparative leger
positive comparative superlative
predicative/adverbial leech leger it leechst
it leechste
indefinite c. sing. lege legere leechste
n. sing. leech leger leechste
plural lege legere leechste
definite lege legere leechste
partitive leechs legers —
Further reading
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  • “leech (III)”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011

Yola

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Middle English leche, from Old English lǣċe, from Proto-West Germanic *lākī.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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leech

  1. physician

References

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  • Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828) William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867, page 52
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