Leech

8 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Leech \Leech\ (l[=e]ch), n.
     See 2d {Leach}.
     [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:



  Leech \Leech\, v. t.
     See {Leach}, v. t.
     [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Leech \Leech\, n. [Cf. LG. leik, Icel. l[imac]k, Sw. lik
     boltrope, st[*a]ende liken the leeches.] (Naut.)
     The border or edge at the side of a sail. [Written also
     {leach}.]
     [1913 Webster]
  
     {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.
        [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Leech \Leech\, n. [OE. leche, l[ae]che, physician, AS. l[=ae]ce;
     akin to Fries. l[=e]tza, OHG. l[=a]hh[imac], Icel.
     l[ae]knari, Sw. l[aum]kare, Dan. l[ae]ge, Goth. l[=e]keis,
     AS. l[=a]cnian to heal, Sw. l[aum]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.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Leech, heal thyself.                  --Wyclif (Luke
                                                    iv. 23).
  
     2. (Zool.) 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.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     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}.
           [1913 Webster]
  
     3. (Surg.) A glass tube of peculiar construction, adapted for
        drawing blood from a scarified part by means of a vacuum.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     {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.
        [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Leech \Leech\, v. t. [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]
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. To bleed by the use of leeches.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  leech
       n 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}]
       v : draw blood; "In the old days, doctors routinely bled
           patients as part of the treatment" [syn: {bleed}, {phlebotomize},
            {phlebotomise}]

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.