 8 definitions found
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
leech
noun
1: carnivorous or bloodsucking aquatic or terrestrial worms
typically having a sucker at each end [syn: {bloodsucker},
{hirudinean}]
2: a follower who hangs around a host (without benefit to the
host) in hope of gain or advantage [syn: {parasite}, {sponge},
{sponger}]
verb: draw blood; "In the old days, doctors routinely bled
patients as part of the treatment" [syn: {bleed}, {phlebotomize},
{phlebotomise}]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Leech \Leech\ (l[=e]ch), noun
See 2d {Leach}.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Leech \Leech\, verb (used with an object)
See {Leach}, verb (used with an object)
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Leech \Leech\, noun [Cf. LG. leik, Icel. l[=i]k, Sw. lik boltrope,
st[*a]ende liken the leeches.] (Naut.)
The border or edge at the side of a sail. [Written also
{leach}.]
{Leech line}, a line attached to the leech ropes of sails,
passing up through blocks on the yards, to haul the
leeches by. --Totten.
{Leech rope}, that part of the boltrope to which the side of
a sail is sewed.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Leech \Leech\, noun [OE. leche, l[ae]che, physician, AS. l[=ae]ce;
akin to Fries. l[=e]tza, OHG. l[=a]hh[=i], Icel. l[ae]knari,
Sw. l["a]kare, Dan. l[ae]ge, Goth. l[=e]keis, AS. l[=a]cnian
to heal, Sw. l["a]ka, Dan. l[ae]ge, Icel. l[ae]kna, Goth.
l[=e]kin[=o]n.]
1. A physician or surgeon; a professor of the art of healing.
[Written also {leach}.] [Archaic] --Spenser.
Leech, heal thyself. --Wyclif (Luke
iv. 23).
2. (Zo["o]l.) Any one of numerous genera and species of
annulose worms, belonging to the order {Hirudinea}, or
Bdelloidea, esp. those species used in medicine, as
{Hirudo medicinalis} of Europe, and allied species.
Note: In the mouth of bloodsucking leeches are three
convergent, serrated jaws, moved by strong muscles. By
the motion of these jaws a stellate incision is made in
the skin, through which the leech sucks blood till it
is gorged, and then drops off. The stomach has large
pouches on each side to hold the blood. The common
large bloodsucking leech of America ({Macrobdella
decora}) is dark olive above, and red below, with black
spots. Many kinds of leeches are parasitic on fishes;
others feed upon worms and mollusks, and have no jaws
for drawing blood. See {Bdelloidea}. {Hirudinea}, and
{Clepsine}.
3. (Surg.) A glass tube of peculiar construction, adapted for
drawing blood from a scarified part by means of a vacuum.
{Horse leech}, a less powerful European leech ({H[ae]mopis
vorax}), commonly attacking the membrane that lines the
inside of the mouth and nostrils of animals that drink at
pools where it lives.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Leech \Leech\, verb (used with an object) [imp. & p. p. {Leeched} (l[=e]cht); p. pr.
& vb. n. {Leeching}.]
1. To treat as a surgeon; to doctor; as, to leech wounds.
[Archaic]
2. To bleed by the use of leeches.
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
105 Moby Thesaurus words for "leech":
Chilopoda, Chordata, Doctor of Medicine, Echiuroidea, Ectoprocta,
Entoprocta, GP, MD, Monoplacophora, Nemertinea, Phoronidea,
adherent, adhesive, allopath, allopathist, attending physician,
barnacle, beat, bedbug, blackmailer, bleed, bloodsucker, boltrope,
bramble, brier, bulldog, burr, canvas, cement, clew, cloth,
coroner, country doctor, cringle, croaker, crowd of sail, cup,
deadbeat, decal, decalcomania, doc, doctor, earing, extortionist,
family doctor, foot, fore-and-aft sail, freeloader,
general practitioner, give a transfusion, glue, gunk, harpy, head,
house physician, intern, let blood, limpet, luff,
medical attendant, medical examiner, medical man,
medical practitioner, medico, molasses, mosquito, mucilage, muslin,
parasite, paste, perfuse, phlebotomize, physician,
physician in ordinary, plain sail, plaster, predator,
press of sail, prickle, profiteer, racketeer, rag, raptor,
reduced sail, reef point, reefed sail, remora, resident,
resident physician, sail, sawbones, shakedown artist, shark,
smell-feast, sponge, sponger, square sail, sticker, syrup, thorn,
tick, transfuse, vampire, vulture, wood tick
From Jargon File (4.3.1, 29 Jun 2001) [jargon]:
leech
1. n. (Also 'leecher'.) Among BBS types, crackers and {warez
d00dz}, one who consumes knowledge without generating new software,
cracks, or techniques. BBS culture specifically defines a leech as
someone who downloads files with few or no uploads in return, and who
does not contribute to the message section. Cracker culture extends this
definition to someone (a {lamer}, usually) who constantly presses
informed sources for information and/or assistance, but has nothing to
contribute. 2. v. [common, Toronto area] To instantly fetch a file
(other than a mail attachment) whether by FTP or IRC file req or any
other method. Seems to be a holdover from the early 1990s when Toronto
had a very active BBS and warez scene.
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