leach

== English == === Pronunciation === (UK, US) enPR: lēch, IPA(key): /liːt͡ʃ/ Homophone: leech Rhymes: -iːtʃ === Etymology 1 === From Middle English leche (“leachate; sluggish stream”), from Old English *lǣċ, *lǣċe (“muddy stream”), from Proto-Germanic *lēkijō (“a leak, drain, flow”) (compare Proto-Germanic *lekaną (“to leak, drain”)), from Proto-Indo-European *leǵ- (“to leak”). Cognate with Old English leċċan (“to water, moisten”), Old English lacu (“stream, pool, pond”). More at leak, lake. ==== Noun ==== leach (plural leaches) A quantity of wood ashes, through which water passes, and thus imbibes the alkali. Coordinate terms: leachant, leachate A tub or vat for leaching ashes, bark, etc. (nautical) Alternative spelling of leech. A jelly-like sweetmeat popular in the fifteenth century. ===== Derived terms ===== ===== Translations ===== === Etymology 2 === From Middle English *lechen, *lecchen, from Old English leċċan, from Proto-Germanic *lakjaną, from Proto-Indo-European *leǵ- (“to leak”). ==== Verb ==== leach (third-person singular simple present leaches, present participle leaching, simple past and past participle leached) (transitive) To purge a soluble matter out of something by the action of a percolating fluid. (intransitive) To part with soluble constituents by percolation. (figurative, intransitive) To bleed; to seep. ===== Usage notes ===== Not to be confused with the verb leech. ===== Derived terms ===== ===== Translations ===== ===== See also ===== demineralize === Anagrams === Hecla, chela