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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
leech1    Audio Help   [leech] Pronunciation Key
–noun
1.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.
2.a person who clings to another for personal gain, esp. without giving anything in return, and usually with the implication or effect of exhausting the other's resources; parasite.
3.Archaic. an instrument used for drawing blood.
–verb (used with object)
4.to apply leeches to, so as to bleed.
5.to cling to and feed upon or drain, as a leech: His relatives leeched him until his entire fortune was exhausted.
6.Archaic. to cure; heal.
–verb (used without object)
7.to hang on to a person in the manner of a leech: She leeched on to him for dear life.

[Origin: bef. 900; ME leche, OE lǣce; r. (by confusion with leech2) ME liche, OE lȳce; c. MD lieke; akin to OE lūcan to pull out, MHG liechen to pull]

leechlike, adjective

2. bloodsucker; extortioner; sponger.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
leech

To learn more about leech visit Britannica.com

© 2008 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
leech2    Audio Help   [leech] Pronunciation Key
–noun Archaic.
a physician.

[Origin: bef. 1150; ME leche, OE lǣce; c. OS lāki, OHG lāhhi, Goth lékeis; akin to ON lǣknir]
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
leech3    Audio Help   [leech] Pronunciation Key
–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 (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
Leech    Audio Help   [leech] Pronunciation Key
–noun
Margaret, 1893–1974, U.S. historian, novelist, and biographer.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
leech 1    Audio Help   (lēch)  Pronunciation Key 
n.  
  1. Any of various chiefly aquatic bloodsucking or carnivorous annelid worms of the class Hirudinea, of which one species (Hirudo medicinalis) was formerly used by physicians to bleed patients and is now sometimes used as a temporary aid to circulation during surgical reattachment of a body part.
  2. One that preys on or clings to another; a parasite.
  3. Archaic A physician.

v.   leeched, leech·ing, leech·es

v.   tr.
  1. To bleed with leeches.
  2. To drain the essence or exhaust the resources of.

v.   intr.
To attach oneself to another in the manner of a leech.


[Middle English leche, physician, leech, from Old English lǣce; see leg- in Indo-European roots.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
leech 2    Audio Help   (lēch)  Pronunciation Key 
n.   Nautical
  1. Either vertical edge of a square sail.
  2. The after edge of a fore-and-aft sail.


[Middle English leche, probably from Middle Low German līk, leech line; see leig- in Indo-European roots.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
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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leech  (2)
obsolete for "physician," from O.E. læce, from O.Dan. læke, from P.Gmc. *lælijaz "healer, physician" (cf. O.N. læknir, O.H.G. lahhi, Goth. lekeis "physician"), lit. "one who counsels," perhaps connected with a root found in Celt. (cf. Ir. liaig "charmer, exorcist, physician") and/or Slavic (cf. Serbo-Croatian lijekar), with an original sense of "speak, talk, whisper, conjurer." The form and sense merged with leech (1) in M.E. by folk etymology. In 17c., leech usually was applied only to veterinary practitioners. The third finger of the hand, in O.E., was læcfinger, translating L. digitus medicus, Gk. daktylus iatrikos, supposedly because a vein from that finger stretches straight to the heart.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
leech

noun
1. carnivorous or bloodsucking aquatic or terrestrial worms typically having a sucker at each end 
2. a follower who hangs around a host (without benefit to the host) in hope of gain or advantage 

verb
1. draw blood; "In the old days, doctors routinely bled patients as part of the treatment" [syn: bleed

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
leech [liːtʃ] noun
a kind of blood-sucking worm
Arabic: عَلَق
Chinese (Simplified): 水蛭
Chinese (Traditional): 水蛭
Czech: pijavice
Danish: igle
Dutch: bloedzuiger
Estonian: kaan
Finnish: juotikas
French: sangsue
German: der Blutegel
Greek: βδέλλα
Hungarian: pióca
Icelandic: igla, blóðsuga
Indonesian: lintah
Italian: sanguisuga
Japanese: ひる
Korean: 거머리
Latvian: dēle
Lithuanian: dėlė
Norwegian: igle
Polish: pijawka
Portuguese (Brazil): sanguessuga
Portuguese (Portugal): sanguessuga
Romanian: lipitoare
Russian: пиявка
Slovak: pijavica
Slovenian: pijavka
Spanish: sanguijuela
Swedish: blodigel
Turkish: sülük
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary, © 2000-2006 K Dictionaries Ltd.
American Heritage Stedman's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

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.
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Main Entry: 1leech
Pronunciation: 'lEch
Function: noun
: any of numerous carnivorous or bloodsucking annelid worms that comprise the classHirudinea, that typically have a flattened segmented lance-shaped body with well-marked external annulations, a sucker at each end, a mouth within the anterior sucker, and a large stomach with pouchesof large capacity at the sides, that are hermaphroditic usually with direct development, and that occur chiefly in freshwater although a few are marine and some tropical forms are terrestrial—see MEDICINAL LEECH

Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
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.
Jargon File - Cite This Source - Share This

leech

n. Among BBS types, crackers and warez d00dz, one who consumes knowledge without generating new software, cracks, or techniques. BBS culture specifically defines a leech as someone who downloads files with few or no uploads in return, and who does not contribute to the message section. Cracker culture extends this definition to someone (a lamer, usually) who constantly presses informed sources for information and/or assistance, but has nothing to contribute.

Jargon File 4.2.0
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Leech

Hi*ru"do\, n. [L., a leech.] (Zo["o]l.) A genus of leeches, including the common medicinal leech. See Leech.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Leech

Leach\, n. (Naut.) See 3d Leech.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Leech

Leach\, n. See Leech, a physician. [Obs.]

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Leech

Leech\ (l[=e]ch), n. See 2d Leach.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Leech

Leech\, v. t. See Leach, v. t.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
On-line Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

leech

leech: in CancerWEB's On-line Medical Dictionary

On-line Medical Dictionary, © 1997-98 Academic Medical Publishing & CancerWEB
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