leech

C2+ Topic:People & Society

US /litʃ/ UK /liːtʃ/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
a blood-sucking worm; also, a person who exploits others parasitically

He became a leech, living off his friends without contributing.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a blood-sucking worm; also,... parasite bloodsuckerspongerfreeloaderexploiter

Word family

Related forms leechingleechcraft

Simplified etymology

Leech was the Old English word for a healer or medical practitioner. In this sense it is unrelated to the name of the bloodsucking worm.

Etymology

From Old English lǣce ('leech, the worm'), partly conflated with the homonym lǣce ('physician, healer'), since leeches were used in bloodletting; both from Proto-Germanic roots.

lǣce Old English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

People & Society

External links

# leech

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /litʃ/
**IPA (UK):** /liːtʃ/

## Meanings
1. a blood-sucking worm; also, a person who exploits others parasitically

## Examples
- He became a leech, living off his friends without contributing.

## Synonyms
- parasite
- bloodsucker
- sponger
- freeloader
- exploiter

## Related Forms
- leeching
- leechcraft

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: lǣce

## Etymology
From Old English lǣce ('leech, the worm'), partly conflated with the homonym lǣce ('physician, healer'), since leeches were used in bloodletting; both from Proto-Germanic roots.

## AI Etymology
Leech is from Old English lǣce ('leech, the worm'), partly conflated with the homonym lǣce ('physician, healer'), since leeches were used in bloodletting; both from Proto-Germanic roots. Important recorded forms include lǣce (Old English). The current sense covers a blood-sucking worm; also, a person who exploits others parasitically. The wider family includes related words such as leeching and leechcraft.

## Topics
- People & Society

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