leech English · revision 1052

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈliːt͡ʃ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|leche]], [[inh|ang|lǣce|t=leech; physician]].^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) The Old English word meaning “physician” is a Germanic word, related to [[goh|lāhhi]], [[non|læknir]] and [[got|𐌻𐌴𐌹𐌺𐌴𐌹𐍃|tr=lēkeis|t=physician]].^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) The name of the worm (Kentish ''lȳce'') is of unknown origin, with a relative in Middle Dutch ''lieke'';^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) according to the OED it is a distinct word that was assimilated to “physician” by folk etymology.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995) The sailing term is a separate word, probably related to Middle Low German ''līk'' “bolt-rope”.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ As “physician”, recorded about 900;^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995) the bloodsucking worm is recorded before 900.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Physicians used leeches to bleed patients, and the two words merged in form.^(MW Collegiate)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) The sense “physician”, once applied even to God and Christ,^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) became archaic, poetic or jocular, leaving the worm as the main meaning.^(Barnhart 1995)^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate) From 1784 a person who clings to another for gain was called a leech.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) The verb meaning “to apply leeches” dates from the early 19th century,^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) and “to drain, to live parasitically on” from the 20th.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 900 – the bloodsucking worm.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * c. 900 – a physician.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * c. 1200 – verb, to cure or heal (obsolete).^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1485 – the edge of a sail.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1784 – a person who clings to another for gain.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1828 – verb, to apply leeches.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1937 – verb, to attach oneself like a leech.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # Any of various chiefly aquatic bloodsucking or carnivorous [[annelid]] worms of the class Hirudinea, one species of which was formerly used by physicians to [[bloodletting|alt=bleed]] patients.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A person who clings to another for gain; a [[parasite]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(archaic)'' A [[physician]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(nautical)'' Either vertical edge of a square [[sail]], or the after edge of a fore-and-aft sail.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To bleed with leeches.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To drain the resources of; to exhaust.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To attach oneself to someone in the manner of a leech.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[leechcraft]]

+ * [[parasite]]

+ * [[sponger]]

+ * [[leach]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Not to be confused with the verb ''[[leach]]''.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}