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leech1 
Audio Help [leech] Pronunciation Key
—Related forms
Audio Help [leech] Pronunciation Key –noun
–verb (used with object)
–verb (used without object)
| 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. |
| 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. |
| 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]
] —Related forms
leechlike, adjective
—Synonyms 2. bloodsucker; extortioner; sponger.
| Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006. |
leech
To learn more about leech visit Britannica.com
| © 2008 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. |
leech2
Audio Help [leech] Pronunciation Key
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. |
leech3
Audio Help [leech] Pronunciation Key
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. |
Leech
Audio Help [leech] Pronunciation Key
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. |
| leech 1
Audio Help (lēch) Pronunciation Key
n.
v. leeched, leech·ing, leech·es v. tr.
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.] |
| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
| leech 2
Audio Help (lēch) Pronunciation Key
n. Nautical
[Middle English leche, probably from Middle Low German līk, leech line; see leig- in Indo-European roots.] |
| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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 |
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 |
| 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. |
leech [liːtʃ] noun
a kind of blood-sucking worm
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| Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary, © 2000-2006 K Dictionaries Ltd. |
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. |
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. |
Main Entry: 2leech
Function: transitive verb
1 : to treat as a physician :
2 : to bleed by the use of leeches
| Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc. |
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 |
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. |
Leech
Leach\, n. (Naut.) See 3d Leech.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
Leech
Leach\, n. See Leech, a physician. [Obs.]| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
Leech
Leech\ (l[=e]ch), n. See 2d Leach.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
Leech
Leech\, v. t. See Leach, v. t.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
leech
leech: in CancerWEB's On-line Medical Dictionary
| On-line Medical Dictionary, © 1997-98 Academic Medical Publishing & CancerWEB |
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