leechn.¹

Brit.

/liːtʃ/, U.S.

/litʃ/

Forms: Old English lǽce, Northumbrian léce, Middle English–1500s leche, Middle English lache, læche, liache, Middle English, 1500s leache, Middle English leyche, Middle English lecche, Middle English–1500s lech, Middle English leeche, lieche, 1500s Scottish leiche, leitche, 1500s–1800s leach, 1500s– leech.

Etymology: Old English lǽce strong masculine (once lǽca weak), corresponds to Old Frisian (dative) letza, leischa, Old High German lâhhi, Middle Swedish läkir (Danish læge; Old Norse has the cognate lǽknir, and modern Swedish läkare, from the verb läka to heal), Gothic lêkeis < Old Germanic *læ̂kjo-z < pre-Germanic *lēgio-s; the synonymous Irish liaigh (Old Irish liaig, dative plural legib) is apparently related in some way.

a. A physician; one who practises the healing art.Now archaic (chiefly poetic) or jocular; often apprehended as a transferred use of leech n.² In the 17th cent. it was applied in ordinary prose use only to veterinary practitioners, and this sense survives in some dialects. (See also the combinations bullock-leech, cow-leech, horse-leech n., etc.)

ΘΚΠ

the world > health and disease > healing > veterinary medicine and surgery > [noun] > veterinarian

veterinarian1646

leecha1656

veterinary surgeon1795

veterinary1829

vet1862

V.S.1952

c900 tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (1890) iv. xxi. [xix.] 320 Cyneferð læce, se æt hire wæs, þa heo forðferde.

c950 Lindisf. Gosp. Luke iv. 23 La lece lecna ðec seoline.

c1175 Lamb. Hom. 83 Nu bihoueð þe forwunded wreche þet he habbe leche.

c1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 101/7 On leches heo hadde i-spendet Muche del of hire guod.

a1300 Cursor Mundi 26322 Als lech þou suld seke man hale.

a1340 R. Rolle Psalter vi. 1 Þe hand of þe leche brennand or sherend.

c1386 G. Chaucer Summoner's Tale 248 What nedeth hym þat hath a parfit leche To sechen othere leches in the toun?

a1500 (?c1450) Merlin xxviii. 574 The kynge delyuered hem leches to couer theire woundes.

1513 G. Douglas in tr. Virgil Æneid xiii. Prol. 80 Als stern of spech As he had bene ane medycyner or lech.

1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene i. v. sig. E^v Many skilfull leaches him abide, To salue his hurts.

a1656 J. Hales Serm. at Eton (1673) iii. 40 They that come and tell you what you are to believe,..and tell you not why, they are not Medici, but Veterinarii, they are not Physicians, but Leaches.

1715 N. Rowe Lady Jane Gray i. i. 2 The hoary wrinkled Leach has..Try'd ev'ry health-restoring Herb and Gum.

1777 Philos. Trans. 1776 (Royal Soc.) 66 498 A farrier and bullock-leach.

1807 G. Crabbe Parish Reg. iii, in Poems 122 Can this proud Leech, with all his boasted Skill, Amend the Soul or Body, Wit or Will?

1820 W. Scott Abbot I. vi. 134 A learned leech with some new drug.

a1839 W. M. Praed Poems (1864) II. 85 Grudging the leech his growing bill.

1870 W. Morris Earthly Paradise I. i. 121 As one who lays all hope aside, Because the leech has said his life must end.

b. transferred and figurative. Applied often to God and Christ, and spiritual persons.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the supernatural > deity > Christian God > [noun] > according to other attributes

horn of salvation (health)c825

fatherOE

Our FatherOE

leecha1200

searcher of (men's) heartsa1382

untempter1382

headstone of the cornerc1400

Valentinec1450

illuminator1485

sun?1521

righteous maker1535

shepherd1535

verity1535

strengthener1567

gracer1592

heart-searcher1618

heartbreaker1642

sustainera1680

philanthropist1730

the invisible1781

praise1782

All-Father1814

wisdom1855

omniscient1856

engracer1866

inbreather1873

God of the gaps1933

the great —— in the sky1968

society > faith > aspects of faith > spirituality > [noun] > person > as healer

leecha1200

the world > the supernatural > deity > Christian God > the Trinity > the Son or Christ > [noun] > according to other attributes

horn of salvation (health)c825

fatherOE

sun of righteousnessOE

priestc1175

leecha1200

vinec1315

apostlec1382

amenc1384

shepherdc1384

the Wisdom of the Father1402

high priest1526

pelican1526

mediatora1530

reconcilerc1531

branch1535

morning star1535

surety1535

vicar1651

arch-shepherd1656

hierarch1855

particularity1930

a1200 Moral Ode 303 Ich kan beo ȝif i scal lichame and soule liache.

c1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 41 Ure louerd ihesu crist is alre herdene herde and alre lechene leche.

a1250 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Nero) (1952) 80 Þus is sicnesse soule leche. & salue of hire wunden.

1340 Ayenbite (1866) 129 Þe holi gost is þe guode leche þet amaystreþ his ziknesse.

c1386 G. Chaucer Summoner's Tale 184 God that is oure lyues leche.

c1420 Pallad. on Husb. xii. 129 The best Of benes boyled water may be leche To sle the frost.

a1547 Earl of Surrey Poems (1964) 15 My hartes delight, my sorowes leche, mine earthly goddesse here.

†2. = leechman n. at Compounds, leech-finger n. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > life > the body > external parts of body > limb > digit > finger > [noun] > ring finger

ring fingereOE

leech-fingerc1000

leechc1290

leechman14..

medicinable finger?a1475

ring man?c1475

wedding-finger1543

nameless finger1584

medicinal finger1598

physic finger1621

physical finger1623

physician finger1623

medical finger1653

marriage finger1711

ring digit1867

c1290 S. Eng. Leg. 308/311 Þe nexte finguer hatte ‘leche’.

?a1500 Nominale (Yale Beinecke 594) in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 753/2 Hic medius, the longman. Hic medi[c]us, the leche. Hic auricularis, the lythylman.

Compounds

attributive and in other combinations, as leech-fee n. ‘a physician's fee’ ( Cent. Dict.).† leech-house n. Obsolete a hospital. leechman n. †a physician; also (now dialect) = leech-finger n.

ΘΚΠ

the world > health and disease > healing > healer > physician > [noun]

physician?c1225

leecherc1374

practiserc1387

doctora1400

flesh-leecha1400

leechman14..

mediciner?a1425

miria1425

M.D.1425

medicine?c1450

practitioner?1543

minister1559

doc1563

artist1565

medicus1570

medicianera1578

Aesculapius1586

Dra1593

pisspot1592

medician1597

physicianer1598

medicinary1599

pisspot1600

velvet-cap1602

healer1611

Galena1616

physiner1616

clyster1621

clyster-pipe1622

hakim1623

medic1625

practicant1630

medico1647

physicker1649

physicster1689

Aesculapian1694

nim-gimmer1699

pill-monger1706

medical man1784

meester1812

medical1823

pill-gilder1824

therapeutist1830

pill1835

pill roller1843

med1851

pill-peddler1855

therapeutic1858

squirt1859

medicine man1866

pill pusher1879

therapist1886

doser1888

internist1894

pill-shooter1911

whitecoat1911

quack1919

vet1925

the world > life > the body > external parts of body > limb > digit > finger > [noun] > ring finger

ring fingereOE

leech-fingerc1000

leechc1290

leechman14..

medicinable finger?a1475

ring man?c1475

wedding-finger1543

nameless finger1584

medicinal finger1598

physic finger1621

physical finger1623

physician finger1623

medical finger1653

marriage finger1711

ring digit1867

the world > health and disease > healing > places for the sick or injured > [noun] > hospital or infirmary

maison dieu1354

fermery1377

leech-house1483

sick-house1491

hospital1549

infirmitorya1552

guest house1600

infirmatory1603

valetudinary1623

infirmary1625

nosocome1653

hôtel-Dieuc1660

hothouse1707

sanity-institution1799

butcher's shop1890

14.. Camb. MS. Ff. v. 48 lf. 82 (Halliw.) at Fingers The lest fyngir hat lityl man, for hit is lest of alle; The next fynger hat leche man, for quen a leche dos oȝt, With that fynger he tastes all thyng, howe that hit is wroȝt.

1483 Cath. Angl. 211/1 A Leche house, laniena, quia infirmi ibi laniantur.

1600 F. L. tr. Ovid Remedy of Love sig. B2 The Leachmans skill.

1605 J. Sylvester tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Deuine Weekes & Wks. i. iv. 128 Light-bringer, Laureat, Leach-man, all-Reuiuer.

1888 New Sydenham Soc. Lexicon Leechman, a practitioner of medicine.

This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1902; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

leechn.²

Brit.

/liːtʃ/, U.S.

/litʃ/

Forms: Old English lǽce, ( lýce), Middle English liche, Middle English–1500s leche, Middle English Scottish leiche, 1500s–1800s leach, 1500s– leech.

Etymology: Old English lǽce, Kentish lýce strong masculine = Middle Dutch lake (Kilian laecke, lijck-laecke, modern Flemish lijklake), lieke, leke feminine Commonly regarded as a transferred use of leech n.¹; this is plausible, but the forms Old English lyce , early Middle English liche , Middle Dutch lieke , suggest that the word was originally distinct, but assimilated to lǽce leech n.¹ through popular etymology.

a. One of the aquatic blood-sucking worms belonging to the order Hirudinea: the ordinary leech used medicinally for drawing blood belongs to the genus Hirudo or Sanguisuga. (See also horse-leech n. 2, land-leech n. at land n.¹ Compounds 2b(b), sea-leech, water-leech, etc.)

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > invertebrates > subkingdom Metazoa > grade Triploblastica or Coelomata > phylum Annelida > [noun] > class Hirudinea > member of (leech)

leecha900

water leechc1350

bloodsuckera1387

lough-leech1562

loch leech1579

sanguisuge1585

censur1597

leech-worm1794

hirudinean1835

sangsuea1849

snail-leech1865

the world > health and disease > healing > medical appliances or equipment > other surgical equipment > [noun] > leech

leech1541

sanguisuge1585

leech-worm1794

a900 in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 85/11 Sanguissuge, lyces.

c1000 in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 121/36 Sanguisuga, uel hirudo, læce.

a1275 Prov. Ælfred 472 in Old Eng. Misc. 131 Suket þuru is liche, so dot liche blod.

c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 291/2 Leche, wy(r)m of þe watur, sanguissuga.

1541 T. Elyot Castel of Helthe (new ed.) 61 Evacuation by wormes, founde in waters called bloudde suckers or leaches.

1568 (a1508) W. Kennedy Flyting (Bannatyne) in Poems W. Dunbar (1998) I. 201 Lat him lay sax leichis on thy lendis.

1656 J. Smith Compl. Pract. Physick 154 Leeches set behind the Ears.

1794 E. Burke Speech against W. Hastings in Wks. (1827) XV. 351 He was driven out of it finally by the rebellion, and, as you may imagine, departed like a leech full of blood.

1803 Med. & Physical Jrnl. 10 430 The application of four leeches to each ankle.

1822 J. M. Good Study Med. IV. 5 The hirudo viridis, or green leech [is well known to multiply], by longitudinal sections.

1861 R. T. Hulme tr. C. H. Moquin-Tandon Elements Med. Zool. ii. iii. iv. 140 There are three principal varieties of Leeches employed in France. These are—1st, the Grey Leech; 2nd, the Green Leech; 3rd, the Dragon Leech..(true English or Speckled Leech).

in extended use.1849 A. Alison Hist. Europe from French Revol. (new ed.) II. viii. 261 Those female furies, aptly termed the ‘leeches of the guillotine’.Proverbial phrase.c1839 W. E. Forster in T. W. Reid Life W. E. Forster (1888) I. iv. 115 He [Cobden] is..likely to mistake a crotchet for a principle and stick to it like a leech.

b. artificial leech n. Surgery see quot. 1875.

ΘΚΠ

the world > health and disease > healing > medical appliances or equipment > other surgical equipment > [noun] > leech > artificial leech

bdellometer1839

artificial leech1858

1858 in P. L. Simmonds Dict. Trade Products

1875 E. H. Knight Amer. Mech. Dict. II. 1283/2 Leech, Artificial, a light glass tube from which the air is expelled by the vapor of ether, and whose mouth is then applied to a previously scarified portion of the body.

1879 St. George's Hosp. Rep. 9 497 The artificial leech was applied to the temple on three occasions.

c. figurative. One who ‘sticks to’ another for the purpose of getting gain out of him.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > will > wish or inclination > desire > inordinate or excessive desire > [noun] > rapacity > rapacious person

gorgec1450

sanguisugec1540

horse-leech1546

harpy1589

vulture1605

leech1785

sanguisorb1884

1785 W. Cowper Task iii. 817 The spendthrift, and the leech That sucks him.

1794 C. Pigott Female Jockey Club (ed. 4) Pref. 20 Are the hearts of these leeches softened by the possession of such scandalous monopoly?

1842 Ld. Tennyson Will Waterproof's Monologue in Poems (new ed.) II. 192 Ere days, that deal in ana, swarm'd His literary leeches.

1883 J. Parker Tyne Chylde 86 It's a sticking leech you have laid on me this time, and a famous biter.

Compounds

C1. General attributive.

leech-bite n.

ΚΠ

1882 H. de Windt On Equator 57 We..reached the bungalow..none the worse, with the exception of leech-bites and cut feet.

leech-bleeder n.

ΚΠ

1851 in Illustr. London News 5 Aug. (1854) 119 Leech-bleeder, leech-breeder.

leech-breeder n.

ΚΠ

1851 in Illustr. London News 5 Aug. (1854) 119 Leech-bleeder, leech-breeder.

leech-dealer n.

ΚΠ

1839 Penny Cycl. XIII. 383/2 The leech-dealers of Bretagne.

leech-family n.

ΚΠ

1839 Penny Cycl. XIII. 383/1 Cuvier thinks it doubtful whether the species of this genus [Clepsina] should be arranged with the leech family.

leech-gatherer n.

ΚΠ

1807 W. Wordsworth Resolution & Independence in Poems I. 97 I'll think of the Leech-gatherer on the lonely moor.

leech-tribe n.

ΚΠ

1835–6 Todd's Cycl. Anat. & Physiol. I. 170/2 There is observed in the leech-tribe something analogous to the lesser circulation.

C2.

leech-like adj.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > will > wish or inclination > desire > inordinate or excessive desire > [adjective] > rapacious

ravenousc1425

rapinous1484

ravening1548

rapacious1572

scambling1600

large-handeda1616

tenter-hooking1615

vulturizing1650

vulturian1659

leech-like1682

vulturine1721

vulturish1826

vulturous1843

1682 J. Dryden Medall 10 The Witnesses, that, Leech-like, liv'd on bloud.

1819 P. B. Shelley Eng. in 1819 5 Rulers who neither see nor feel nor know, But leech-like to their fainting country cling, Till they drop, blind in blood, without a blow.

1905 Westm. Gaz. 8 Jan. 3/2 He is prepared to stick to it with almost leech-like tenacity.

1908 Westm. Gaz. 6 Oct. 10/2 Parasitical and leech-like characteristics.

1963 R. P. Dales Annelids ix. 176 The parasitic leech-like branchiobdellids also belong to the Prosopora.

C3.

leech-eater n. a name for the Spur-winged Plover ( Holopterus spinosus) and the Crocodile-bird ( Pluvianus ægyptius).

ΚΠ

1885 Riverside Nat. Hist. (1888) IV. 100 The so-called spur-winged plover (Hoplopterus spinosus)..claims the distinction of being the ‘leech-eater’ or ‘trochilos’ of Herodotus.

leech-extract n. an extract prepared from leeches, used in physiological experiments for intravenous or intraperitoneal injections.

ΚΠ

1898 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. V. 420 Organic substances such as fibrin ferment, hemi-albumose, peptones, nuclein, and leech extract..have the effect on injection, of bringing about a marked and rapid diminution in the number of leucocytes.

leech-gaiter n. a kind of gaiter worn in Ceylon as a protection against land-leeches.

ΚΠ

1859 J. E. Tennent Ceylon I. ii. vii. 303 The coffee planters, who live amongst these pests, are obliged..to envelope their legs in ‘leech gaiters’ made of closely woven cloth.

leech-glass n. Surgery a glass tube to hold a leech which it is required to apply to a particular spot.

ΚΠ

1839 Penny Cycl. XIII. 384/1 It is difficult to make them fix themselves on the particular spot wished; but a leech-glass will generally effect this.

† leech-worm n. Obsolete = main sense

ΘΚΠ

the world > health and disease > healing > medical appliances or equipment > other surgical equipment > [noun] > leech

leech1541

sanguisuge1585

leech-worm1794

the world > animals > invertebrates > subkingdom Metazoa > grade Triploblastica or Coelomata > phylum Annelida > [noun] > class Hirudinea > member of (leech)

leecha900

water leechc1350

bloodsuckera1387

lough-leech1562

loch leech1579

sanguisuge1585

censur1597

leech-worm1794

hirudinean1835

sangsuea1849

snail-leech1865

1794 Sporting Mag. 4 271 Observations on the Leech worm, by a Gentleman who kept one several Years for the purpose of a Weather-glass.

This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1902; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

leechn.³

Brit.

/liːtʃ/, U.S.

/litʃ/

Forms: Middle English lek, leche, lyche, 1600s leatch, 1600s, 1800s leach, 1600s– leech.

Etymology: Of obscure origin; apparently related in some way to Old Norse līk (a nautical term of obscure meaning; the Swedish lik, Danish lig mean ‘bolt-rope’), Dutch lijk, German liek, leech-line.

Nautical.

Either vertical edge of a square sail; the aft edge of a fore-and-aft sail. Also with qualifications, as after-leech, mast-leech, roach-leech, weather-leech.

ΘΚΠ

society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > equipment of vessel > masts, rigging, or sails > sail > [noun] > side edge of sail

leech1485

skirt1627

after leech1769

1485 [see leech-hook n. at Compounds].

1496 in T. Dickson Accts. Treasurer Scotl. (1877) I. 300 Item, to Dauid Gourlay, for making of a bonat and the lek to it.

1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Penne d'un voile,..the Leech of a sayle.

1627 J. Smith Sea Gram. vii. 32 The Leech of a saile is the outward side or skirt of the saile from the earing to the clew, the middle betwixt which wee account the Leech.

1762 W. Falconer Shipwreck ii. 20 The leeches taught, the hallyards are made fast.

1834 F. Marryat Jacob Faithful I. xvii. 300 They were handing in the leech of the sail, when snap went one blunt-line.

1881 W. C. Russell Sailor's Sweetheart I. v. 123 The leech of the top-gallant sail.

1948 R. de Kerchove Internat. Maritime Dict. 407/1 Leech, the side of a square sail, or the afteredge of a fore-and-aft sail. Also called skirt when referring to square sails.

Compounds

† leech-hook n. Obsolete a hook for attaching the leech-line to the sail.

ΘΚΠ

society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > equipment of vessel > masts, rigging, or sails > rigging > [noun] > running rigging > ropes securing sail to yard > hook for

leech-hook1485

luff hook1485

1485 in M. Oppenheim Naval Accts. & Inventories Henry VII (1896) 38 Shanke hokes.., Pakke hokes.., Leche hokes.

1495 in M. Oppenheim Naval Accts. & Inventories Henry VII (1896) 158 Lyche hokes of Yron,..loff hokes of yron.

leech-line n. a rope attached to the leech, serving to truss the sail close up to the yard.

ΘΚΠ

society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > equipment of vessel > masts, rigging, or sails > rigging > [noun] > running rigging > ropes securing sail to yard

headline1294

rope-bend1294

roband1336

robbin1497

raeband1513

rope-yard1611

earing1626

leech-line1626

rope-band1769

jackstay1834

roving1837

1626 J. Smith Accidence Young Sea-men 30 Cleare your leach-lines.

1627 J. Smith Sea Gram. v. 23 Leech lines are small ropes made fast to the Leech of the top-sailes.

1860 Mercantile Marine Mag. 7 113 A leach-line is bent on each yard-arm.

leech-lining n. (see quot. 1883).

ΘΚΠ

society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > equipment of vessel > masts, rigging, or sails > sail > [noun] > material of sails > piece of canvas strengthening sail > on topsail

top-lining1794

leech-lining1883

1883 Man. Seamanship for Boys' Training Ships Royal Navy (1886) 53 Q. What is a goring cloth? A. A side cloth of a topsail,..or lining of a topsail, called by sailmakers the leech lining.

leech-rope n. (see quot. 1769).

ΘΚΠ

society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > equipment of vessel > masts, rigging, or sails > sail > [noun] > rope sewn at edge to prevent tearing > parts of

foot ropeOE

head ropec1625

body rope1759

leech-rope1769

foot line1813

1769 W. Falconer Universal Dict. Marine Leech-rope, a name given to that part of the bolt-rope, to which the border, or skirt of a sail is sewed.

1801 Asiatic Ann. Reg. 1800 Chron. 23/2 The leech ropes of the fore-sail, main-sail, fore-top sail, and mizen-top-sail.

1885 A. Brassey In Trades 465 Repaired leech rope of mizen and set the sail.

This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1902; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

leechn.⁴

Brit.

/liːtʃ/, U.S.

/litʃ/

(See quots.)

1805 J. Luccock Nature & Prop. Wool 15 The part of the staple through which the shears passed to separate it from the sheep (and which is commonly called the leech of the fleece).

1805 J. Luccock Nature & Prop. Wool 310 In some instances a quantity of dirt is concealed by the custom of winding fleeces with the leech outwards.

1892 P. L. Simmonds Commerc. Dict. Trade Products (rev. ed.) Suppl. Leech, the technical name for a bundle or small parcel of human hair.

This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1902; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

Leechn.⁵

Brit.

/liːtʃ/, U.S.

/litʃ/

Etymology: < the name of John Leech (1926–92), British mathematician, who described the concept in Canad. Jrnl. Math. (1967) 19 251.

Mathematics.

Leech lattice n. a set of points in 24-dimensional Euclidean space regularly arranged such that each point has exactly 196,560 nearest neighbours.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > number > geometry > point > [noun] > sets or groups of points

umbilic point1586

involution1847

triad1850

range1859

point group1887

tetrad1889

tristigm1889

neighbourhood1891

trinode1891

trigraphy1895

Cantor set1902

web1909

limit cycle1918

Leech lattice1968

1968 J. H. Conway in Proc. National Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 61 398 The Leech lattice Λ is the union of the sets [C, m] over all C ∈ C and all integers m.

1974 Nature 8 Feb. (Advt. facing p. 402) In the final chapter Steiner systems and sphere packing problems are related via the famous Leech lattice.

1982 D. Gorenstein Finite Simple Groups ii. 120 Conway constructed his three simple groups from the automorphism group of the remarkable 24-dimensional Leech lattice.

1986 Nature 20 Feb. 621/3 The Leech lattice (an economical way to pack spheres in 24-dimensional space).

This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1997; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

leechv.¹

Brit.

/liːtʃ/, U.S.

/litʃ/

Forms: Middle English liache, Orm. læchenn; Middle English–1500s leche, Middle English liche, Middle English–1500s lech, Middle English, 1600s leach, 1500s leeche, 1800s leech.

Etymology: Early Middle English, < leech n.¹; compare Swedish läka , Danish læge . The sense was expressed in Old English by lácnian , lǽcnian : see lechne v.

Now rare and archaic.

transitive. To cure, heal.

ΘΚΠ

the world > health and disease > healing > heal or cure [verb (transitive)]

lechnec900

helpc950

beetc975

healc1000

temperc1000

leechc1175

amendc1300

halec1330

soundc1374

sanec1386

warishc1386

defenda1400

rectifya1400

salve1411

lokenc1425

redress?c1425

recure?a1439

guarish1474

cure1526

medify1543

recover1548

resanate1599

sanate1623

sain1832

c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 17227 Hiss gast. Iss clennsedd & rihht læchedd.

c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 4274 He comm her to læchenn uss Off all þatt dæþess wunde.

a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Job v. 18 [The Lord] woundeth and lecheth; smyteth, and his hondis shuln helen.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 176 Iesu crist..openlik bigan..alle þat sek ware to leche.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 11841 Þai moght not leche his wa.

c1440 York Myst. xvii. 156 A barne is borne Þat shall..leche þam þat ar lorne.

?c1450 Life St. Cuthbert (1891) l. 1832 He taght goddis wordes..And synfull' men lyues lechyd.

1564 Louth Corporat. Acc. (1891) 78 Paid for leching my horses verie sicke, vs.

a1625 J. Fletcher Loyal Subj. iii. v, in F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Comedies & Trag. (1647) sig. Eee3^v/2 Have ye any crackt maiden-heads to new leach or mend?

1819 W. Scott Ivanhoe II. iv. 53 Let those leech his wounds for whose sake he encountered them.

1850 J. S. Blackie tr. Æschylus Lyrical Dramas I. 63 A disease that none may leech.

This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1902; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

leechv.²

Brit.

/liːtʃ/, U.S.

/litʃ/

Etymology: < leech n.²

transitive. To apply leeches to medicinally. Also absol.

ΘΚΠ

the world > health and disease > healing > medical treatment > surgery > bloodletting > let blood of [verb (transitive)] > apply leeches to

leech1828

1828 G. Ewing in Mem. (1847) xiv. 5 I was leeched and bled in the arm and am almost quite well.

1834 J. Forbes tr. R. T. H. Laennec Treat. Dis. Chest (ed. 4) 427 The patient was bled and leeched with relief.

1861 ‘G. Eliot’ Silas Marner xvi. 286 When I'm leeching or poulticing.

1897 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. III. 346 The protruding tongue must be leeched.

Draft additions 1997

2. intransitive. Const. on (to). To attach oneself like a leech; to be parasitic on. Also const. off.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > possession > taking > taken [verb (intransitive)] > take advantage

leech1937

the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > approval or sanction > commendation or praise > flattery or flattering > servile flattery or currying favour > flatter servilely or curry favour [verb (intransitive)] > be a parasite or sponger

hang1535

lick1602

parasite1609

shirk1633

sponge1673

scunge1846

coat-tail1852

leech1937

freeload1940

lig1960

1937 R. K. Narayan Bachelor of Arts xiv. 201 It was nearly two years since he left college, and he was still leeching on his father.

1983 Listener 23 June 14/2 A silver-tongued mountebank leeching on to suffering, pitilessly fleecing the gullible.

1986 Philadelphia Inquirer 6 Nov. 4 d/5 As you might imagine, the greedy and the tasteless are wanting to leech onto him, to cash in on The Farewell Tour.

1988 People Weekly 23 May 11/1 They exist to leech on our fears and desires for revenge and to use the suffering of victims to boost ratings.

1990 Sunday Mail Mag (Brisbane) 25 Mar. 22 To leech off the American people!

Draft additions 1997

3. figurative. To drain (someone or something) of energy, money, etc.; to drain (something) away or from something.There appears to be some confusion with leach v.² 4.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > possession > taking > take [verb (transitive)] > to drain someone of something

leecha1961

the mind > possession > taking > taken [verb (intransitive)] > to drain someone of something

leech1981

a1961 in Webster's 3rd New Internat. Dict. Eng. Lang. (at cited word) Bankers who had always leeched them white.

1964 Listener 13 Aug. 225/2 It [sc. a modern office block] has neither virtues nor vices; it just sits there like a graceless woman, leeching away a bit more of the city's vitality.]

1974 Times Lit. Suppl. 1 Mar. 211/4 The invading Englishman..leeching the land with his reservoirs and his crass afforestations.

1981 R. Davies Rebel Angels iii. 98 ‘What's he been up to?’ ‘Leeching and bumming and sornering.’

1988 Times 17 Feb. 12/1 I see no reason why the London cabbie should not..leech his heritage..for mutual gain.

1990 Times 5 Apr. 1/3 The brain-drain..leeched 45,000 people from the territory.

This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1902; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

n.¹c900

n.²a900

n.³1485

n.⁴1805

n.⁵1968

v.¹c1175

v.²1828

单词	leech
释义	leechn.¹ Brit. /liːtʃ/, U.S. /litʃ/ Forms: Old English lǽce, Northumbrian léce, Middle English–1500s leche, Middle English lache, læche, liache, Middle English, 1500s leache, Middle English leyche, Middle English lecche, Middle English–1500s lech, Middle English leeche, lieche, 1500s Scottish leiche, leitche, 1500s–1800s leach, 1500s– leech. Etymology: Old English lǽce strong masculine (once lǽca weak), corresponds to Old Frisian (dative) letza, leischa, Old High German lâhhi, Middle Swedish läkir (Danish læge; Old Norse has the cognate lǽknir, and modern Swedish läkare, from the verb läka to heal), Gothic lêkeis < Old Germanic læ̂kjo-z < pre-Germanic lēgio-s; the synonymous Irish liaigh (Old Irish liaig, dative plural legib) is apparently related in some way. 1. a. A physician; one who practises the healing art.Now archaic (chiefly poetic) or jocular; often apprehended as a transferred use of leech n.² In the 17th cent. it was applied in ordinary prose use only to veterinary practitioners, and this sense survives in some dialects. (See also the combinations bullock-leech, cow-leech, horse-leech n., etc.) ΘΚΠ the world > health and disease > healing > veterinary medicine and surgery > [noun] > veterinarian veterinarian1646 leecha1656 veterinary surgeon1795 veterinary1829 vet1862 V.S.1952 c900 tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (1890) iv. xxi. [xix.] 320 Cyneferð læce, se æt hire wæs, þa heo forðferde. c950 Lindisf. Gosp. Luke iv. 23 La lece lecna ðec seoline. c1175 Lamb. Hom. 83 Nu bihoueð þe forwunded wreche þet he habbe leche. c1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 101/7 On leches heo hadde i-spendet Muche del of hire guod. a1300 Cursor Mundi 26322 Als lech þou suld seke man hale. a1340 R. Rolle Psalter vi. 1 Þe hand of þe leche brennand or sherend. c1386 G. Chaucer Summoner's Tale 248 What nedeth hym þat hath a parfit leche To sechen othere leches in the toun? a1500 (?c1450) Merlin xxviii. 574 The kynge delyuered hem leches to couer theire woundes. 1513 G. Douglas in tr. Virgil Æneid xiii. Prol. 80 Als stern of spech As he had bene ane medycyner or lech. 1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene i. v. sig. E^v Many skilfull leaches him abide, To salue his hurts. a1656 J. Hales Serm. at Eton (1673) iii. 40 They that come and tell you what you are to believe,..and tell you not why, they are not Medici, but Veterinarii, they are not Physicians, but Leaches. 1715 N. Rowe Lady Jane Gray i. i. 2 The hoary wrinkled Leach has..Try'd ev'ry health-restoring Herb and Gum. 1777 Philos. Trans. 1776 (Royal Soc.) 66 498 A farrier and bullock-leach. 1807 G. Crabbe Parish Reg. iii, in Poems 122 Can this proud Leech, with all his boasted Skill, Amend the Soul or Body, Wit or Will? 1820 W. Scott Abbot I. vi. 134 A learned leech with some new drug. a1839 W. M. Praed Poems (1864) II. 85 Grudging the leech his growing bill. 1870 W. Morris Earthly Paradise I. i. 121 As one who lays all hope aside, Because the leech has said his life must end. b. transferred and figurative. Applied often to God and Christ, and spiritual persons. ΘΚΠ the world > the supernatural > deity > Christian God > [noun] > according to other attributes horn of salvation (health)c825 fatherOE Our FatherOE leecha1200 searcher of (men's) heartsa1382 untempter1382 headstone of the cornerc1400 Valentinec1450 illuminator1485 sun?1521 righteous maker1535 shepherd1535 verity1535 strengthener1567 gracer1592 heart-searcher1618 heartbreaker1642 sustainera1680 philanthropist1730 the invisible1781 praise1782 All-Father1814 wisdom1855 omniscient1856 engracer1866 inbreather1873 God of the gaps1933 the great —— in the sky1968 society > faith > aspects of faith > spirituality > [noun] > person > as healer leecha1200 the world > the supernatural > deity > Christian God > the Trinity > the Son or Christ > [noun] > according to other attributes horn of salvation (health)c825 fatherOE sun of righteousnessOE priestc1175 leecha1200 vinec1315 apostlec1382 amenc1384 shepherdc1384 the Wisdom of the Father1402 high priest1526 pelican1526 mediatora1530 reconcilerc1531 branch1535 morning star1535 surety1535 vicar1651 arch-shepherd1656 hierarch1855 particularity1930 a1200 Moral Ode 303 Ich kan beo ȝif i scal lichame and soule liache. c1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 41 Ure louerd ihesu crist is alre herdene herde and alre lechene leche. a1250 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Nero) (1952) 80 Þus is sicnesse soule leche. & salue of hire wunden. 1340 Ayenbite (1866) 129 Þe holi gost is þe guode leche þet amaystreþ his ziknesse. c1386 G. Chaucer Summoner's Tale 184 God that is oure lyues leche. c1420 Pallad. on Husb. xii. 129 The best Of benes boyled water may be leche To sle the frost. a1547 Earl of Surrey Poems (1964) 15 My hartes delight, my sorowes leche, mine earthly goddesse here. †2. = leechman n. at Compounds, leech-finger n. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > life > the body > external parts of body > limb > digit > finger > [noun] > ring finger ring fingereOE leech-fingerc1000 leechc1290 leechman14.. medicinable finger?a1475 ring man?c1475 wedding-finger1543 nameless finger1584 medicinal finger1598 physic finger1621 physical finger1623 physician finger1623 medical finger1653 marriage finger1711 ring digit1867 c1290 S. Eng. Leg. 308/311 Þe nexte finguer hatte ‘leche’. ?a1500 Nominale (Yale Beinecke 594) in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 753/2 Hic medius, the longman. Hic medi[c]us, the leche. Hic auricularis, the lythylman. Compounds attributive and in other combinations, as leech-fee n. ‘a physician's fee’ ( Cent. Dict.).† leech-house n. Obsolete a hospital. leechman n. †a physician; also (now dialect) = leech-finger n. ΘΚΠ the world > health and disease > healing > healer > physician > [noun] physician?c1225 leecherc1374 practiserc1387 doctora1400 flesh-leecha1400 leechman14.. mediciner?a1425 miria1425 M.D.1425 medicine?c1450 practitioner?1543 minister1559 doc1563 artist1565 medicus1570 medicianera1578 Aesculapius1586 Dra1593 pisspot1592 medician1597 physicianer1598 medicinary1599 pisspot1600 velvet-cap1602 healer1611 Galena1616 physiner1616 clyster1621 clyster-pipe1622 hakim1623 medic1625 practicant1630 medico1647 physicker1649 physicster1689 Aesculapian1694 nim-gimmer1699 pill-monger1706 medical man1784 meester1812 medical1823 pill-gilder1824 therapeutist1830 pill1835 pill roller1843 med1851 pill-peddler1855 therapeutic1858 squirt1859 medicine man1866 pill pusher1879 therapist1886 doser1888 internist1894 pill-shooter1911 whitecoat1911 quack1919 vet1925 the world > life > the body > external parts of body > limb > digit > finger > [noun] > ring finger ring fingereOE leech-fingerc1000 leechc1290 leechman14.. medicinable finger?a1475 ring man?c1475 wedding-finger1543 nameless finger1584 medicinal finger1598 physic finger1621 physical finger1623 physician finger1623 medical finger1653 marriage finger1711 ring digit1867 the world > health and disease > healing > places for the sick or injured > [noun] > hospital or infirmary maison dieu1354 fermery1377 leech-house1483 sick-house1491 hospital1549 infirmitorya1552 guest house1600 infirmatory1603 valetudinary1623 infirmary1625 nosocome1653 hôtel-Dieuc1660 hothouse1707 sanity-institution1799 butcher's shop1890 14.. Camb. MS. Ff. v. 48 lf. 82 (Halliw.) at Fingers The lest fyngir hat lityl man, for hit is lest of alle; The next fynger hat leche man, for quen a leche dos oȝt, With that fynger he tastes all thyng, howe that hit is wroȝt. 1483 Cath. Angl. 211/1 A Leche house, laniena, quia infirmi ibi laniantur. 1600 F. L. tr. Ovid Remedy of Love sig. B2 The Leachmans skill. 1605 J. Sylvester tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Deuine Weekes & Wks. i. iv. 128 Light-bringer, Laureat, Leach-man, all-Reuiuer. 1888 New Sydenham Soc. Lexicon Leechman, a practitioner of medicine. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1902; most recently modified version published online March 2022). leechn.² Brit. /liːtʃ/, U.S. /litʃ/ Forms: Old English lǽce, ( lýce), Middle English liche, Middle English–1500s leche, Middle English Scottish leiche, 1500s–1800s leach, 1500s– leech. Etymology: Old English lǽce, Kentish lýce strong masculine = Middle Dutch lake (Kilian laecke, lijck-laecke, modern Flemish lijklake), lieke, leke feminine Commonly regarded as a transferred use of leech n.¹; this is plausible, but the forms Old English lyce , early Middle English liche , Middle Dutch lieke , suggest that the word was originally distinct, but assimilated to lǽce leech n.¹ through popular etymology. a. One of the aquatic blood-sucking worms belonging to the order Hirudinea: the ordinary leech used medicinally for drawing blood belongs to the genus Hirudo or Sanguisuga. (See also horse-leech n. 2, land-leech n. at land n.¹ Compounds 2b(b), sea-leech, water-leech, etc.) ΘΚΠ the world > animals > invertebrates > subkingdom Metazoa > grade Triploblastica or Coelomata > phylum Annelida > [noun] > class Hirudinea > member of (leech) leecha900 water leechc1350 bloodsuckera1387 lough-leech1562 loch leech1579 sanguisuge1585 censur1597 leech-worm1794 hirudinean1835 sangsuea1849 snail-leech1865 the world > health and disease > healing > medical appliances or equipment > other surgical equipment > [noun] > leech leech1541 sanguisuge1585 leech-worm1794 a900 in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 85/11 Sanguissuge, lyces. c1000 in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 121/36 Sanguisuga, uel hirudo, læce. a1275 Prov. Ælfred 472 in Old Eng. Misc. 131 Suket þuru is liche, so dot liche blod. c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 291/2 Leche, wy(r)m of þe watur, sanguissuga. 1541 T. Elyot Castel of Helthe (new ed.) 61 Evacuation by wormes, founde in waters called bloudde suckers or leaches. 1568 (a1508) W. Kennedy Flyting (Bannatyne) in Poems W. Dunbar (1998) I. 201 Lat him lay sax leichis on thy lendis. 1656 J. Smith Compl. Pract. Physick 154 Leeches set behind the Ears. 1794 E. Burke Speech against W. Hastings in Wks. (1827) XV. 351 He was driven out of it finally by the rebellion, and, as you may imagine, departed like a leech full of blood. 1803 Med. & Physical Jrnl. 10 430 The application of four leeches to each ankle. 1822 J. M. Good Study Med. IV. 5 The hirudo viridis, or green leech [is well known to multiply], by longitudinal sections. 1861 R. T. Hulme tr. C. H. Moquin-Tandon Elements Med. Zool. ii. iii. iv. 140 There are three principal varieties of Leeches employed in France. These are—1st, the Grey Leech; 2nd, the Green Leech; 3rd, the Dragon Leech..(true English or Speckled Leech). in extended use.1849 A. Alison Hist. Europe from French Revol. (new ed.) II. viii. 261 Those female furies, aptly termed the ‘leeches of the guillotine’.Proverbial phrase.c1839 W. E. Forster in T. W. Reid Life W. E. Forster (1888) I. iv. 115 He [Cobden] is..likely to mistake a crotchet for a principle and stick to it like a leech. b. artificial leech n. Surgery see quot. 1875. ΘΚΠ the world > health and disease > healing > medical appliances or equipment > other surgical equipment > [noun] > leech > artificial leech bdellometer1839 artificial leech1858 1858 in P. L. Simmonds Dict. Trade Products 1875 E. H. Knight Amer. Mech. Dict. II. 1283/2 Leech, Artificial, a light glass tube from which the air is expelled by the vapor of ether, and whose mouth is then applied to a previously scarified portion of the body. 1879 St. George's Hosp. Rep. 9 497 The artificial leech was applied to the temple on three occasions. c. figurative. One who ‘sticks to’ another for the purpose of getting gain out of him. ΘΚΠ the mind > will > wish or inclination > desire > inordinate or excessive desire > [noun] > rapacity > rapacious person gorgec1450 sanguisugec1540 horse-leech1546 harpy1589 vulture1605 leech1785 sanguisorb1884 1785 W. Cowper Task iii. 817 The spendthrift, and the leech That sucks him. 1794 C. Pigott Female Jockey Club (ed. 4) Pref. 20 Are the hearts of these leeches softened by the possession of such scandalous monopoly? 1842 Ld. Tennyson Will Waterproof's Monologue in Poems (new ed.) II. 192 Ere days, that deal in ana, swarm'd His literary leeches. 1883 J. Parker Tyne Chylde 86 It's a sticking leech you have laid on me this time, and a famous biter. Compounds C1. General attributive. leech-bite n. ΚΠ 1882 H. de Windt On Equator 57 We..reached the bungalow..none the worse, with the exception of leech-bites and cut feet. leech-bleeder n. ΚΠ 1851 in Illustr. London News 5 Aug. (1854) 119 Leech-bleeder, leech-breeder. leech-breeder n. ΚΠ 1851 in Illustr. London News 5 Aug. (1854) 119 Leech-bleeder, leech-breeder. leech-dealer n. ΚΠ 1839 Penny Cycl. XIII. 383/2 The leech-dealers of Bretagne. leech-family n. ΚΠ 1839 Penny Cycl. XIII. 383/1 Cuvier thinks it doubtful whether the species of this genus [Clepsina] should be arranged with the leech family. leech-gatherer n. ΚΠ 1807 W. Wordsworth Resolution & Independence in Poems I. 97 I'll think of the Leech-gatherer on the lonely moor. leech-tribe n. ΚΠ 1835–6 Todd's Cycl. Anat. & Physiol. I. 170/2 There is observed in the leech-tribe something analogous to the lesser circulation. C2. leech-like adj. ΘΚΠ the mind > will > wish or inclination > desire > inordinate or excessive desire > [adjective] > rapacious ravenousc1425 rapinous1484 ravening1548 rapacious1572 scambling1600 large-handeda1616 tenter-hooking1615 vulturizing1650 vulturian1659 leech-like1682 vulturine1721 vulturish1826 vulturous1843 1682 J. Dryden Medall 10 The Witnesses, that, Leech-like, liv'd on bloud. 1819 P. B. Shelley Eng. in 1819 5 Rulers who neither see nor feel nor know, But leech-like to their fainting country cling, Till they drop, blind in blood, without a blow. 1905 Westm. Gaz. 8 Jan. 3/2 He is prepared to stick to it with almost leech-like tenacity. 1908 Westm. Gaz. 6 Oct. 10/2 Parasitical and leech-like characteristics. 1963 R. P. Dales Annelids ix. 176 The parasitic leech-like branchiobdellids also belong to the Prosopora. C3. leech-eater n. a name for the Spur-winged Plover ( Holopterus spinosus) and the Crocodile-bird ( Pluvianus ægyptius). ΚΠ 1885 Riverside Nat. Hist. (1888) IV. 100 The so-called spur-winged plover (Hoplopterus spinosus)..claims the distinction of being the ‘leech-eater’ or ‘trochilos’ of Herodotus. leech-extract n. an extract prepared from leeches, used in physiological experiments for intravenous or intraperitoneal injections. ΚΠ 1898 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. V. 420 Organic substances such as fibrin ferment, hemi-albumose, peptones, nuclein, and leech extract..have the effect on injection, of bringing about a marked and rapid diminution in the number of leucocytes. leech-gaiter n. a kind of gaiter worn in Ceylon as a protection against land-leeches. ΚΠ 1859 J. E. Tennent Ceylon I. ii. vii. 303 The coffee planters, who live amongst these pests, are obliged..to envelope their legs in ‘leech gaiters’ made of closely woven cloth. leech-glass n. Surgery a glass tube to hold a leech which it is required to apply to a particular spot. ΚΠ 1839 Penny Cycl. XIII. 384/1 It is difficult to make them fix themselves on the particular spot wished; but a leech-glass will generally effect this. † leech-worm n. Obsolete = main sense ΘΚΠ the world > health and disease > healing > medical appliances or equipment > other surgical equipment > [noun] > leech leech1541 sanguisuge1585 leech-worm1794 the world > animals > invertebrates > subkingdom Metazoa > grade Triploblastica or Coelomata > phylum Annelida > [noun] > class Hirudinea > member of (leech) leecha900 water leechc1350 bloodsuckera1387 lough-leech1562 loch leech1579 sanguisuge1585 censur1597 leech-worm1794 hirudinean1835 sangsuea1849 snail-leech1865 1794 Sporting Mag. 4 271 Observations on the Leech worm, by a Gentleman who kept one several Years for the purpose of a Weather-glass. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1902; most recently modified version published online June 2022). leechn.³ Brit. /liːtʃ/, U.S. /litʃ/ Forms: Middle English lek, leche, lyche, 1600s leatch, 1600s, 1800s leach, 1600s– leech. Etymology: Of obscure origin; apparently related in some way to Old Norse līk (a nautical term of obscure meaning; the Swedish lik, Danish lig mean ‘bolt-rope’), Dutch lijk, German liek, leech-line. Nautical. Either vertical edge of a square sail; the aft edge of a fore-and-aft sail. Also with qualifications, as after-leech, mast-leech, roach-leech, weather-leech. ΘΚΠ society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > equipment of vessel > masts, rigging, or sails > sail > [noun] > side edge of sail leech1485 skirt1627 after leech1769 1485 [see leech-hook n. at Compounds]. 1496 in T. Dickson Accts. Treasurer Scotl. (1877) I. 300 Item, to Dauid Gourlay, for making of a bonat and the lek to it. 1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Penne d'un voile,..the Leech of a sayle. 1627 J. Smith Sea Gram. vii. 32 The Leech of a saile is the outward side or skirt of the saile from the earing to the clew, the middle betwixt which wee account the Leech. 1762 W. Falconer Shipwreck ii. 20 The leeches taught, the hallyards are made fast. 1834 F. Marryat Jacob Faithful I. xvii. 300 They were handing in the leech of the sail, when snap went one blunt-line. 1881 W. C. Russell Sailor's Sweetheart I. v. 123 The leech of the top-gallant sail. 1948 R. de Kerchove Internat. Maritime Dict. 407/1 Leech, the side of a square sail, or the afteredge of a fore-and-aft sail. Also called skirt when referring to square sails. Compounds † leech-hook n. Obsolete a hook for attaching the leech-line to the sail. ΘΚΠ society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > equipment of vessel > masts, rigging, or sails > rigging > [noun] > running rigging > ropes securing sail to yard > hook for leech-hook1485 luff hook1485 1485 in M. Oppenheim Naval Accts. & Inventories Henry VII (1896) 38 Shanke hokes.., Pakke hokes.., Leche hokes. 1495 in M. Oppenheim Naval Accts. & Inventories Henry VII (1896) 158 Lyche hokes of Yron,..loff hokes of yron. leech-line n. a rope attached to the leech, serving to truss the sail close up to the yard. ΘΚΠ society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > equipment of vessel > masts, rigging, or sails > rigging > [noun] > running rigging > ropes securing sail to yard headline1294 rope-bend1294 roband1336 robbin1497 raeband1513 rope-yard1611 earing1626 leech-line1626 rope-band1769 jackstay1834 roving1837 1626 J. Smith Accidence Young Sea-men 30 Cleare your leach-lines. 1627 J. Smith Sea Gram. v. 23 Leech lines are small ropes made fast to the Leech of the top-sailes. 1860 Mercantile Marine Mag. 7 113 A leach-line is bent on each yard-arm. leech-lining n. (see quot. 1883). ΘΚΠ society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > equipment of vessel > masts, rigging, or sails > sail > [noun] > material of sails > piece of canvas strengthening sail > on topsail top-lining1794 leech-lining1883 1883 Man. Seamanship for Boys' Training Ships Royal Navy (1886) 53 Q. What is a goring cloth? A. A side cloth of a topsail,..or lining of a topsail, called by sailmakers the leech lining. leech-rope n. (see quot. 1769). ΘΚΠ society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > equipment of vessel > masts, rigging, or sails > sail > [noun] > rope sewn at edge to prevent tearing > parts of foot ropeOE head ropec1625 body rope1759 leech-rope1769 foot line1813 1769 W. Falconer Universal Dict. Marine Leech-rope, a name given to that part of the bolt-rope, to which the border, or skirt of a sail is sewed. 1801 Asiatic Ann. Reg. 1800 Chron. 23/2 The leech ropes of the fore-sail, main-sail, fore-top sail, and mizen-top-sail. 1885 A. Brassey In Trades 465 Repaired leech rope of mizen and set the sail. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1902; most recently modified version published online March 2022). leechn.⁴ Brit. /liːtʃ/, U.S. /litʃ/ (See quots.) Π 1805 J. Luccock Nature & Prop. Wool 15 The part of the staple through which the shears passed to separate it from the sheep (and which is commonly called the leech of the fleece). 1805 J. Luccock Nature & Prop. Wool 310 In some instances a quantity of dirt is concealed by the custom of winding fleeces with the leech outwards. 1892 P. L. Simmonds Commerc. Dict. Trade Products (rev. ed.) Suppl. Leech, the technical name for a bundle or small parcel of human hair. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1902; most recently modified version published online June 2022). Leechn.⁵ Brit. /liːtʃ/, U.S. /litʃ/ Etymology: < the name of John Leech (1926–92), British mathematician, who described the concept in Canad. Jrnl. Math. (1967) 19 251. Mathematics. Leech lattice n. a set of points in 24-dimensional Euclidean space regularly arranged such that each point has exactly 196,560 nearest neighbours. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > number > geometry > point > [noun] > sets or groups of points umbilic point1586 involution1847 triad1850 range1859 point group1887 tetrad1889 tristigm1889 neighbourhood1891 trinode1891 trigraphy1895 Cantor set1902 web1909 limit cycle1918 Leech lattice1968 1968 J. H. Conway in Proc. National Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 61 398 The Leech lattice Λ is the union of the sets [C, m] over all C ∈ C and all integers m. 1974 Nature 8 Feb. (Advt. facing p. 402) In the final chapter Steiner systems and sphere packing problems are related via the famous Leech lattice. 1982 D. Gorenstein Finite Simple Groups ii. 120 Conway constructed his three simple groups from the automorphism group of the remarkable 24-dimensional Leech lattice. 1986 Nature 20 Feb. 621/3 The Leech lattice (an economical way to pack spheres in 24-dimensional space). This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1997; most recently modified version published online March 2022). leechv.¹ Brit. /liːtʃ/, U.S. /litʃ/ Forms: Middle English liache, Orm. læchenn; Middle English–1500s leche, Middle English liche, Middle English–1500s lech, Middle English, 1600s leach, 1500s leeche, 1800s leech. Etymology: Early Middle English, < leech n.¹; compare Swedish läka , Danish læge . The sense was expressed in Old English by lácnian , lǽcnian : see lechne v. Now rare and archaic. transitive. To cure, heal. ΘΚΠ the world > health and disease > healing > heal or cure [verb (transitive)] lechnec900 helpc950 beetc975 healc1000 temperc1000 leechc1175 amendc1300 halec1330 soundc1374 sanec1386 warishc1386 defenda1400 rectifya1400 salve1411 lokenc1425 redress?c1425 recure?a1439 guarish1474 cure1526 medify1543 recover1548 resanate1599 sanate1623 sain1832 c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 17227 Hiss gast. Iss clennsedd & rihht læchedd. c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 4274 He comm her to læchenn uss Off all þatt dæþess wunde. a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Job v. 18 [The Lord] woundeth and lecheth; smyteth, and his hondis shuln helen. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 176 Iesu crist..openlik bigan..alle þat sek ware to leche. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 11841 Þai moght not leche his wa. c1440 York Myst. xvii. 156 A barne is borne Þat shall..leche þam þat ar lorne. ?c1450 Life St. Cuthbert (1891) l. 1832 He taght goddis wordes..And synfull' men lyues lechyd. 1564 Louth Corporat. Acc. (1891) 78 Paid for leching my horses verie sicke, vs. a1625 J. Fletcher Loyal Subj. iii. v, in F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Comedies & Trag. (1647) sig. Eee3^v/2 Have ye any crackt maiden-heads to new leach or mend? 1819 W. Scott Ivanhoe II. iv. 53 Let those leech his wounds for whose sake he encountered them. 1850 J. S. Blackie tr. Æschylus Lyrical Dramas I. 63 A disease that none may leech. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1902; most recently modified version published online March 2022). leechv.² Brit. /liːtʃ/, U.S. /litʃ/ Etymology: < leech n.² transitive. To apply leeches to medicinally. Also absol. ΘΚΠ the world > health and disease > healing > medical treatment > surgery > bloodletting > let blood of [verb (transitive)] > apply leeches to leech1828 1828 G. Ewing in Mem. (1847) xiv. 5 I was leeched and bled in the arm and am almost quite well. 1834 J. Forbes tr. R. T. H. Laennec Treat. Dis. Chest (ed. 4) 427 The patient was bled and leeched with relief. 1861 ‘G. Eliot’ Silas Marner xvi. 286 When I'm leeching or poulticing. 1897 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. III. 346 The protruding tongue must be leeched. Draft additions 1997 2. intransitive. Const. on (to). To attach oneself like a leech; to be parasitic on. Also const. off. ΘΚΠ the mind > possession > taking > taken [verb (intransitive)] > take advantage leech1937 the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > approval or sanction > commendation or praise > flattery or flattering > servile flattery or currying favour > flatter servilely or curry favour [verb (intransitive)] > be a parasite or sponger hang1535 lick1602 parasite1609 shirk1633 sponge1673 scunge1846 coat-tail1852 leech1937 freeload1940 lig1960 1937 R. K. Narayan Bachelor of Arts xiv. 201 It was nearly two years since he left college, and he was still leeching on his father. 1983 Listener 23 June 14/2 A silver-tongued mountebank leeching on to suffering, pitilessly fleecing the gullible. 1986 Philadelphia Inquirer 6 Nov. 4 d/5 As you might imagine, the greedy and the tasteless are wanting to leech onto him, to cash in on The Farewell Tour. 1988 People Weekly 23 May 11/1 They exist to leech on our fears and desires for revenge and to use the suffering of victims to boost ratings. 1990 Sunday Mail Mag (Brisbane) 25 Mar. 22 To leech off the American people! Draft additions 1997 3. figurative. To drain (someone or something) of energy, money, etc.; to drain (something) away or from something.There appears to be some confusion with leach v.² 4. ΘΚΠ the mind > possession > taking > take [verb (transitive)] > to drain someone of something leecha1961 the mind > possession > taking > taken [verb (intransitive)] > to drain someone of something leech1981 a1961 in Webster's 3rd New Internat. Dict. Eng. Lang. (at cited word) Bankers who had always leeched them white. 1964 Listener 13 Aug. 225/2 It [sc. a modern office block] has neither virtues nor vices; it just sits there like a graceless woman, leeching away a bit more of the city's vitality.] 1974 Times Lit. Suppl. 1 Mar. 211/4 The invading Englishman..leeching the land with his reservoirs and his crass afforestations. 1981 R. Davies Rebel Angels iii. 98 ‘What's he been up to?’ ‘Leeching and bumming and sornering.’ 1988 Times 17 Feb. 12/1 I see no reason why the London cabbie should not..leech his heritage..for mutual gain. 1990 Times 5 Apr. 1/3 The brain-drain..leeched 45,000 people from the territory. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1902; most recently modified version published online June 2022). < n.¹c900n.²a900n.³1485n.⁴1805n.⁵1968v.¹c1175v.²1828
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