leech (redirected from leeches)

leech ¹  (lch)

n.

1. Any of various chiefly aquatic bloodsucking or carnivorous annelid worms of the class Hirudinea, of which one species (Hirudo medicinalis) was formerly used by physicians to bleed patients and is now sometimes used as a temporary aid to circulation during surgical reattachment of a body part.

2. One that preys on or clings to another; a parasite.

3. Archaic A physician.

v. leeched, leech·ing, leech·es

v.tr.

1. To bleed with leeches.

2. To drain the essence or exhaust the resources of.

v.intr.

To attach oneself to another in the manner of a leech.

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[Middle English leche, physician, leech, from Old English lce; see leg- in Indo-European roots.]

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leech ²  (lch)

n. Nautical

1. Either vertical edge of a square sail.

2. The after edge of a fore-and-aft sail.

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[Middle English leche, probably from Middle Low German lk, leech line; see leig- in Indo-European roots.]

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leech¹

n

1. (Life Sciences & Allied Applications / Animals) any annelid worm of the class Hirudinea, which have a sucker at each end of the body and feed on the blood or tissues of other animals See also horseleech, medicinal leech

2. a person who clings to or preys on another person

3. (Medicine)

a.  an archaic word for physician

b.  (in combination) leechcraft

cling like a leech to cling or adhere persistently to something

vb

(Medicine) (tr) to use leeches to suck the blood of (a person), as a method of medical treatment

[Old English lǣce, lœce; related to Middle Dutch lieke]

leechlike  adj

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leech², leach [liːtʃ]

n

(Transport / Nautical Terms) Nautical the after edge of a fore-and-aft sail or either of the vertical edges of a squaresail

[of Germanic origin; compare Dutch lijk]

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	leech - carnivorous or bloodsucking aquatic or terrestrial worms typically having a sucker at each end bloodsucker, hirudinean annelid, annelid worm, segmented worm - worms with cylindrical bodies segmented both internally and externally class Hirudinea, Hirudinea - hermaphroditic aquatic or terrestrial or parasitic annelids Hirudo medicinalis, medicinal leech - large European freshwater leech formerly used for bloodletting horseleech - any of several large freshwater leeches
	2.	leech - a follower who hangs around a host (without benefit to the host) in hope of gain or advantage parasite, sponger, sponge follower - a person who accepts the leadership of another
Verb	1.	leech - draw blood; "In the old days, doctors routinely bled patients as part of the treatment" phlebotomise, phlebotomize, bleed practice of medicine, medicine - the learned profession that is mastered by graduate training in a medical school and that is devoted to preventing or alleviating or curing diseases and injuries; "he studied medicine at Harvard" care for, treat - provide treatment for; "The doctor treated my broken leg"; "The nurses cared for the bomb victims"; "The patient must be treated right away or she will die"; "Treat the infection with antibiotics"

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leech

noun parasite, hanger-on, sycophant, freeloader (slang), sponger (informal), ligger (slang), bloodsucker (informal) They're just a bunch of leeches cadging off others!

Translations

leech [liːtʃ] N → sanguijuela f (also fig)
to stick to sb like a leech → pegarse a algn como una lapa

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leech [ˈliːtʃ] n

(= animal) → sangsue f

(fig) (pejorative) (= person) → sangsue f

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leech

n → Blutegel m; (fig) → Blutsauger(in) m(f)

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leech [liːtʃ] n → sanguisuga

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leech [liːtʃ] n → sanguisuga

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leech

n leech [liːtʃ]

a kind of blood-sucking worm. bloedsuier عَلَق пиявица pijavice igle der Blutegel βδέλλα sanguijuela kaan زالو juotikas sangsue עֲלוּקָה जोंक pijavica pióca lintah igla, blóðsuga sanguisuga ひる 거머리 dėlė dēle pacat bloedzuiger igle pijawka sanguessuga lipitoare пиявка pijavica pijavka pijavica blodigel ปลิง sülük 水蛭 п'явка خون چوسنے والا کیڑا con đỉa 水蛭