leech
Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
leech1
▶noun
- 1 a parasitic or predatory annelid worm with suckers at both ends, examples of which were formerly used in medicine for bloodletting. [Hirudo medicinalis (medicinal leech) and other species, class Hirudinea.]
- 2 a person who extorts profit from or lives off others.
– phrases
like a leech very closely or persistently.
like a leech very closely or persistently.
– origin OE lǣce, lȳce.
Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
leech2
▶noun archaic a doctor or healer.
– derivatives
leechcraft noun.
leechcraft noun.
– origin OE lǣce, of Gmc origin.
Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
leech3
▶noun Sailing the after or leeward edge of a fore-and-aft sail, the leeward edge of a spinnaker, or a vertical edge of a square sail.
– origin C15: prob. of Scand. origin and rel. to Swed. lik and Dan. lig.
'leech' also found in these Oxford entries:
