lee English · revision 3756

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=before 725|origins=gem-pro *hlewaz}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /liː/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|le]], earlier leohe,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) [[inh|ang|hlēo|t=shelter, cover, protection]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) from [[gem-pro|*hlewaz]],^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) which is also the source of Old Saxon hleo, Old Frisian hli, Dutch lij “lee side”, Old Norse hlé and Danish læ.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) Its original sense is uncertain; it may have been “warm”, compare German lau “tepid” and Old Norse hlý “warmth”,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) and Watkins traces it to [[ine-pro|*kle-wo-]], a variant of [[ine-pro|*kele-|t=warm]],^(Etymonline) which Barnhart links to Latin calēre “to be hot”.^(Barnhart 1988) Hoad says it is not known outside Germanic.^(Hoad 1986) The nautical sense came mainly from Old Norse.^(Hoad 1986)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Protection, shelter: before 725 in Barnhart,^(Barnhart 1988) and before 900 in the OED, in phrases such as ''in the lee of''.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The nautical sense, the side of a ship or of anything that is away from the wind, is from about 1400^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and of Scandinavian origin,^(Etymonline) from the idea of the side opposite the wind as the sheltered side.^(Etymonline) The adjective is from the 1510s.^(Etymonline) [[leeward]], “on the side turned away from the wind”, is from the 16th century.^(Hoad 1986) A sheltered condition, and so calmness or peace, is a chiefly Scottish sense.^(OED 1989) Middle English also had lewth “warmth, shelter”, from Old English hleowþ.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 725 – shelter.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1200 – Middle English leohe.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1400 – the side away from the wind.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1510s – adjective.^(Etymonline)

+ * 16th century – ''leeward''.^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The side sheltered from the [[wind]], especially of a ship.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Cover; [[shelter]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # On or towards the side away from the wind: ''a lee shore''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==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.^(OED 1989)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}