leech
1
[ leech ]
/ litʃ /
noun
any bloodsucking or carnivorous aquatic or terrestrial worm of the class Hirudinea, certain freshwater species of which were formerly much used in medicine for bloodletting.
a person who clings to another for personal gain, especially without giving anything in return, and usually with the implication or effect of exhausting the other's resources; parasite.
Archaic.
an instrument used for drawing blood.
verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
to hang on to a person in the manner of a leech: She leeched on to him for dear life.
Origin of leech
1
before 900; Middle English
leche, Old English
lǣce; replacing (by confusion with
leech2) Middle English
liche, Old English
lȳce; cognate with Middle Dutch
lieke; akin to Old English
lūcan to pull out, Middle High German
liechen to pull
OTHER WORDS FROM leech
leech·like, adjectiveWords nearby leech
lee gauge,
lee shore,
lee tide,
lee, robert e.,
leeboard,
leech,
leech line,
leech rope,
leeds,
leeds castle,
leek
Definition for leech (2 of 4)
leech
2
[ leech ]
/ litʃ /
noun Archaic.
a physician.
Origin of leech
2
before 1150; Middle English
leche, Old English
lǣce; cognate with Old Saxon
lāki, Old High German
lāhhi, Gothic
lēkeis; akin to Old Norse
lǣknir
Definition for leech (3 of 4)
leech
3
or leach
[ leech ]
/ litʃ /
noun Nautical.
either of the lateral edges of a square sail.
the after edge of a fore-and-aft sail.
Origin of leech
3
1480–90; earlier
lek, leche, lyche; akin to Dutch
lijk leech, Old Norse
līk nautical term of uncertain meaning
Definition for leech (4 of 4)
Leech
[ leech ]
/ litʃ /
noun
Margaret,1893–1974,
U.S. historian, novelist, and biographer.
Example sentences from the Web for leech
British Dictionary definitions for leech (1 of 2)
leech
1
/ (liːtʃ) /
noun
any annelid worm of the class Hirudinea, which have a sucker at each end of the body and feed on the blood or tissues of other animals
See also horseleech, medicinal leech
a person who clings to or preys on another person
- an archaic word for physician
- (in combination)leechcraft
cling like a leech
to cling or adhere persistently to something
verb
(tr)
to use leeches to suck the blood of (a person), as a method of medical treatment
Derived forms of leech
leechlike, adjectiveWord Origin for leech
Old English
lǣce, lœce; related to Middle Dutch
lieke
British Dictionary definitions for leech (2 of 2)
leech
2
leach
/ (liːtʃ) /
noun
nautical
the after edge of a fore-and-aft sail or either of the vertical edges of a squaresail
Word Origin for leech
C15: of Germanic origin; compare Dutch
lijk
Medical definitions for leech
leech
[ lēch ]
n.
Any of various chiefly aquatic bloodsucking or carnivorous annelid worms of the class Hirudinea, one species of which (Hirudo medicinalis) was formerly used by physicians to bleed patients.
v.
To bleed with leeches.