horseleech

[ hawrs-leech ]

/ ˈhɔrsˌlitʃ /

a large leech, as Haemopis marmoratis, that infests the mouth and nasal passages of horses.

Origin of horseleech

First recorded in 1400–50, horseleech is from the late Middle English word horsleych. See horse, leech¹

Each incoming administration is bedeviled by hordes of applicants, as greedy as the daughters of the horseleech.

The Galaxy, June 1877 |Various
She is become the horseleech's daughter and my mill doesn't grind fast enough to suit her.

The Letters Of Mark Twain, Volume 3, 1876-1885 |Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
They are always hanging upon us like an incubus; and yet like Solomon's daughters of the horseleech, are never satisfied.

Forty Years in the Wilderness of Pills and Powders |William A. Alcott
Horseleech, to be candid, far from being a clever fellow, is one of the most barren rascals on record.

Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 1, August 21, 1841 |Various

Yet, as regarded men generally, Sally was a daughter of the horseleech!

Madame Flirt |Charles E. Pearce

horseleech

/ (ˈhɔːsˌliːtʃ) /

any of several large carnivorous freshwater leeches of the genus Haemopis, esp H. sanguisuga

an archaic name for a veterinary surgeon