Leech

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Leech

Wikipedia

English[edit | edit source]

File:Leech-china.JPG

a leech (animal)

Pronunciation[edit | edit source]

(UK, US) enPR: lēch, IPA: /liːtʃ/, SAMPA: /li:tS/
Rhymes: -iːtʃ
Homophones: leach

Etymology 1[edit | edit source]

Middle English liche, Old English lȳce (cf. Middle Dutch [[lieke#Template:Dum|lieke]]), deverbative of lūcan ‘to pull out’, from Proto-Germanic *lūkanan, leukanan (cf. Middle High German [[liechen#Template:Gmh|liechen]] ‘to pull’), from Proto-Indo-European *leuk- (cf. Old Irish [[lucht#Template:Sga|lucht]] ‘load, cargo’, Latin lūgere ‘to mourn’, Tocharian B [[lakle#Template:Txb|lakle]] ‘pain, suffering’, Lithuanian láužti ‘to break’, Albanian lungë ‘knot’, Sanskrit rujáti ‘he breaks, shatters’)

Noun[edit | edit source]

Singular
Leech

Plural
es

Leech (es)

An aquatic blood-sucking annelid of class Hirudinea, especially Hirudo medicinalis.
A person who derives profit from others, in a parasitic fashion.

Translations[edit | edit source]

blood-sucking annelid

Afrikaans: Bloedsuier
Albanian: rrodhe sq(sq)
Armenian: տզրուկ hy(hy) (tzruk)
Basque: izain
Bulgarian: пиявица bg(bg) f.
CJKV Characters: 蟥; 螞, 蚂
Chinese: 蚂蟥 (mǎhuáng)
Croatian: pȉjavica hr(hr) f.
Czech: pijavice f.
Danish: blodigle c., igler pl.
Dutch: bloedzuiger nl(nl) m.
Esperanto: hirudo eo(eo)
Estonian: kaan et(et)
Finnish: juotikas fi(fi), iilimato fi(fi)
French: sangsue fr(fr) f.
Georgian: წურბელა (ts‘urbela)
German: Blutegel de(de) m., Egel de(de) m.
Greek: βδέλλα el(el) f.
Gujarati: જળો (jalō)
Hawaiian: mākoko, omo koko
Hebrew: עלוקה he(he) f.
Hindi: जोंक (jōṅk)
Hungarian: pióca hu(hu)
Icelandic: blóðsuga f., iglur pl.
Ido: sanguisugo
Indonesian: lintah

Italian: sanguisuga it(it) f.
Japanese: ヒル ja(ja) (hiru)
Korean: 거머리 (geomeori)
Latin: hirudo la(la) f.
Latvian: dēle f.
Lithuanian: dėlė f.
Malay: please add this translation if you can
Malayalam: നീരട്ട (nīraṭṭa), കാര്യസാദ്ധ്യത്തിനായി മറ്റൊരാളുമായി അടുപ്പം സ്ഥാപിക്കുന്ന ആള്‍
Mongolian: хануур хорхой mn(mn) (hanuur horhoy)
Navajo: akágí yitsʼǫǫsii
Polish: pijawka pl(pl) f.
Portuguese: sanguessuga pt(pt) f.
Romanian: lipitoare ro(ro) f.
Russian: пиявка ru(ru) (pijávka) f.
Serbian: пијавица sr(sr) f.
Slovak: pijavica sk(sk) f.
Slovene: pijavka sl(sl) f.
Spanish: sanguijuela f., hirudíneo m.
Swedish: igel sv(sv) c.
Tamil: அட்டை (aḍḍai)
Thai: ทาก th(th) (thàak)
Turkish: sülük tr(tr)
Ukrainian: п'явка f.
Vietnamese: đỉa vi(vi)
Yiddish: please add this translation if you can

Derived terms[edit | edit source]

leechcraft

Verb[edit | edit source]

Infinitive
to Leech

Third person singular
leech

Simple past
-

Past participle
-

Present participle
es

to Leech (third-person singular simple present leech, present participle es, simple past and past participle -)

(transitive) To apply a leech medicinally.
(transitive) To drain (resources) without giving back.
Bert leeched hundreds of files from the BBS, but never uploaded anything in return.

Derived terms[edit | edit source]

leecher

Etymology 2[edit | edit source]

Middle English leche, from Old English lǣċe 'physician', from Proto-Germanic *lēkijaz 'healer' (cf. Danish/Swedish læge, Middle Dutch [[lake#Template:Dum|lake]], Old High German lāhhi), from Proto-Celtic *lēgios (cf. Template:Sga líaig), from Proto-Indo-European *leĝ- 'to gather' (cf. Latin legere 'to collect, gather; read', lēx 'law', Serbo-Croat lijek 'medicine, cure', Albanian mbledh 'I collect', Ancient Greek légein 'to collect, gather, choose', logos 'word, speech').

Noun[edit | edit source]

Singular
Leech

Plural
es

Leech (es)

(archaic) A physician.
- 1992, Hilary Mantel, A Place of Greater Safety, Harper Perennial 2007, p. 11:
  He coughed sputum stained with blood, and a scraping, crackling noise came from his chest, quite audible to anyone in the room. ‘Lungs possibly not too good,’ the leech said.
Template:Paganism A healer in Heathenry.
- (A date for this quote is being sought): Swain Wodening, “Scandinavian Craft Lesson 6: Runic Divination”, Theod Magazine, volume 3, number 4
  In ancient times runesters were a specialized class separate from that of the witch or ordinary spell caster (much as the other specialists such as the leech or healer and the seithkona were different from a witch), and even today many believe it takes years of training to become adept at using the runes in spell work.
- 1900, Augustus Henry Keane, Man, Past and Present, The University Press (Cambridge)
  Their functions are threefold, those of the medicine-man (the leech, or healer by supernatural means); of the soothsayer (the prophet through communion with the invisible world); and of the priest, especially in his capacity as exorcist
- 2003, Brian Froud and Ari Berk, The Runes of Elfland, Pavillion Books, ISBN 1 86205 647 1, page 22
  "Leech?" "Not another doctor".
- 2004, Runic John, The Book of Seithr, Capall Bann Publishing, ISBN 186163 299 0, page 282
  There are many kinds of "Leech" or "healer" as there are healing techniques, some are more powerful than others and some are very specific to certain illnesses and complaints; some use potions and unguents, others crystals and stones, others galdr and some work their healing from within the hidden realms themselves.

Etymology 3[edit | edit source]

Middle English lek, leche, lyche, probably from Old Norse lík ‘leech-line’, from Proto-Germanic *līkan (cf. East Frisian [[līk#Template:Frs|līk]] ‘band’, Dutch lijk ‘boltrope’, Middle High German [[geleich#Template:Gmh|geleich]] ‘joint, limb’), from Proto-Indo-European *leiĝ- ‘to bind’ (cf. Latin ligare ‘to tie’, Ukrainian nalýhaty ‘to bridle, fetter’, Albanian lidh ‘to bind’).