lee

Pronunciation

• IPA: /liː/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English le, earlier leohe,^[2][3] inherited from Old English hlēo (“shelter, cover, protection”),^[3][2][4] from Proto-Germanic *hlewaz,^[3][5] which is also the source of Old Saxon hleo, Old Frisian hli, Dutch lij “lee side”, Old Norse hlé and Danish læ.^[3][2] Its original sense is uncertain; it may have been “warm”, compare German lau “tepid” and Old Norse hlý “warmth”,^[3][2] and Watkins traces it to Proto-Indo-European *kle-wo-, a variant of Proto-Indo-European *kele- (“warm”),^[3] which Barnhart links to Latin calēre “to be hot”.^[2] Hoad says it is not known outside Germanic.^[4] The nautical sense came mainly from Old Norse.^[4][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Protection, shelter: before 725 in Barnhart,^[2] and before 900 in the OED, in phrases such as in the lee of.^[6]

Semantic evolution

The nautical sense, the side of a ship or of anything that is away from the wind, is from about 1400^[3][6] and of Scandinavian origin,^[3] from the idea of the side opposite the wind as the sheltered side.^[3] The adjective is from the 1510s.^[3] leeward, “on the side turned away from the wind”, is from the 16th century.^[4] A sheltered condition, and so calmness or peace, is a chiefly Scottish sense.^[6] Middle English also had lewth “warmth, shelter”, from Old English hleowþ.^[3]

Timeline

• before 725 – shelter.^[2]
• c. 1200 – Middle English leohe.^[2]
• c. 1400 – the side away from the wind.^[3][6]
• 1510s – adjective.^[3]
• 16th century – leeward.^[4]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The side sheltered from the wind, especially of a ship.
2. Cover; shelter.

Adjective

1. On or towards the side away from the wind: a lee shore.

Word family

• leeboard
• alee
• leeward
• leeway
• lee gauge
• lee shore

Related words

• lukewarm
• lees
• windward

Usage notes

The lees of wine, from Old French lie, is a separate word, used in the singular in Middle English from 1390.^[6][4]

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e f Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press