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leach

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leach

1  [leech]
Use leach in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
1. to dissolve out soluble constituents from (ashes, soil, etc.) by percolation.
2. to cause (water or other liquid) to percolate through something.
–verb (used without object)
3. (of ashes, soil, etc.) to undergo the action of percolating water.
4. to percolate, as water.
–noun
5. the act or process of leaching.
6. a product or solution obtained by leaching; leachate.
7. the material leached.
8. a vessel for use in leaching.
Origin:
1425–75; late ME leche leachate, infusion, prob. OE *læc(e), *lec(e), akin to leccan to wet, moisten, causative of leak

Related forms:
leach⋅a⋅ble, adjective
leach⋅a⋅bil⋅i⋅ty, noun
leacher, noun
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leach

2  [leech]
–noun Nautical.
leech 3 .

leech

3  [leech]
–noun Nautical.
1. either of the lateral edges of a square sail.
2. the after edge of a fore-and-aft sail.
Also, leach.

Origin:
1480–90; earlier lek, leche, lyche; akin to D lijk leech, ON līk nautical term of uncert. meaning
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To leach
leach   (lēch)   
v.   leached, leach·ing, leach·es

v.   tr.

  1. To remove soluble or other constituents from by the action of a percolating liquid.

  2. To empty; drain: "a world leached of pleasure, voided of meaning" (Marilynne Robinson).

v.   intr.
To be dissolved or passed out by a percolating liquid.
n.  

  1. The act or process of leaching.

  2. A porous, perforated, or sievelike vessel that holds material to be leached.

  3. The substance through which a liquid is leached.


[From Middle English leche, leachate, from Old English *lece, muddy stream; akin to leccan, to moisten.]
leach'a·bil'i·ty n., leach'a·ble adj., leach'er n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

leach  (v.)
O.E. leccan "to moisten" (see leak). The word disappears, then re-emerges late 18c. in a technological sense in ref. to percolating liquids.

leech  (1)
"bloodsucking aquatic worm," from O.E. læce (Kentish lyce), of unknown origin (with a cognate in M.Du. lake). Commonly regarded as a transf. use of leech (2), but the O.E. forms suggest a distinct word, which has been assimilated to leech (2) by folk etymology. Figuratively applied to human parasites since 1784.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: leach
Pronunciation: 'lEch
Function: transitive verb
1 : to subject to the action of percolating liquid (as water) in order to separatethe soluble components
2 : to dissolve out by the action of a percolating liquid leach intransitive senses
: to pass out or through by percolation —leach·abil·i·ty /"lE-ch&-'bil-&t-E/ noun plural -ties
—leach·able /'lE-ch&-b&l/ adjective

Main Entry: 2leech
Function: transitive verb
1 : to treat as a physician : CURE, HEAL
2 : to bleed by the use of leeches
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

leech 1 (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. leeched, leech·ing, leech·es
To bleed with leeches.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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