Dictionary
Thesaurus
Reference
Translate
Web
Related Searches
on Ask.com
Nearby Entries
leeches - 5 dictionary results

leech

1  [leech]
Use leeches in a Sentence
–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 leech 2 ) 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.

leech

2  [leech]
–noun Archaic.
a physician.
Origin:
bef. 1150; ME leche, OE lǣce; c. OS lāki, OHG lāhhi, Goth lēkeis; akin to ON lǣknir

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 leeches
leech 1   (lēch)   
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.]
leech 2   (lēch)   
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.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Search another word or see leeches on Thesaurus | Reference