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Leech
Definitions
- 1 A surname originating as an occupation, derived from the profession leech, a former word for a physician.
- 1 An aquatic blood-sucking annelid of subclass Hirudinea, especially Hirudo medicinalis.
"The leech on his leg had swelled to more than five inches long, puffed and swollen on his blood."
- 2 A physician. archaic
"Many skillful leeches him abide to salve his hurts."
- 3 The vertical edge of a square sail.
"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."
- 4 carnivorous or bloodsucking aquatic or terrestrial worms typically having a sucker at each end wordnet
- 5 A person who derives advantage from others in a parasitic fashion. figuratively
"'Wrecked his body and his mind, no use to hisself or his family or nobody, just a leech on society'."
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- 6 A healer. Germanic
"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"
- 7 The aft edge of a triangular sail.
"Trim the leech of the jib parallel to the main by watching the slot between the mainsail and the jib."
- 8 a follower who hangs around a host (without benefit to the host) in hope of gain or advantage wordnet
- 9 A glass tube designed for drawing blood from damaged tissue by means of a vacuum. dated
- 1 To apply a leech medicinally, so that it sucks blood from the patient. literally, transitive
"The poppy made him sleep and while he slept they leeched him to drain off the bad blood."
- 2 To treat, cure or heal. archaic, rare
"1564, Accounts of Louth Corporalː Paid for leeching.. my horses very sick."
- 3 draw blood wordnet
- 4 To drain (resources) without giving back. figuratively, transitive
"Near-synonyms: mooch, suck down"
Etymology
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).
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).
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”)); 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”). Slavic words such as Serbo-Croatian ljèkār, Polish lekarz (“physician, doctor”) are usually considered to be borrowings from Germanic.
From Middle English lechen (“to cure, heal, treat”), from Middle English leche (“doctor, physician”). Compare Swedish läka (“to heal”).
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).
* As an English surname, variant of Leach. * As an Irish surname, from Ó maol mhaodhóg; see Logue.
See also for "leech"
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