LEECH

n. 1 any freshwater or terrestrial annelid worm of the class Hirudinea with suckers at both ends, esp. Hirudo medicinalis, a bloodsucking parasite of vertebrates formerly much used medicinally. 2 a person who extorts profit from or sponges on others. ølike a leech persistently or clingingly present. [OE lóce, assim. to LEECH(2)]