1. 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.
Phrases and idioms:
like a leech persistently or clingingly present.
Etymology: OE l{aelig}ce, assim. to LEECH(2) 2. n. archaic or joc. a physician; a healer.
Etymology: OE l{aelig}ce f. Gmc 3. n.1 a perpendicular or sloping side of a square sail.
2 the side of a fore-and-aft sail away from the mast or stay.
Etymology: ME, perh. rel. to ON lik, a nautical term of uncert. meaning