Search Result for "leech": 
Wordnet 3.0

NOUN (2)

1. carnivorous or bloodsucking aquatic or terrestrial worms typically having a sucker at each end;
[syn: leech, bloodsucker, hirudinean]

2. a follower who hangs around a host (without benefit to the host) in hope of gain or advantage;
[syn: leech, parasite, sponge, sponger]


VERB (1)

1. draw blood;
- Example: "In the old days, doctors routinely bled patients as part of the treatment"
[syn: bleed, leech, phlebotomize, phlebotomise]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Leech \Leech\ (l[=e]ch), n. See 2d Leach. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Leech \Leech\, v. t. See Leach, v. t. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

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]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

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]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

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]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

leech n 1: carnivorous or bloodsucking aquatic or terrestrial worms typically having a sucker at each end [syn: leech, bloodsucker, hirudinean] 2: a follower who hangs around a host (without benefit to the host) in hope of gain or advantage [syn: leech, parasite, sponge, sponger] v 1: draw blood; "In the old days, doctors routinely bled patients as part of the treatment" [syn: bleed, leech, phlebotomize, phlebotomise]
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

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
The Jargon File (version 4.4.7, 29 Dec 2003):

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. See troughie. 2. v. [common, Toronto area] v. To download a file across any kind of internet link. ?Hop on IRC later so I can leech some MP3s from you.? Used to describe activities ranging from FTP, to IRC DCC-send, to ICQ file requests, to Napster searches (but never to downloading email with file attachments; the implication is that the download is the result of a browse or search of some sort of file server). Seems to be a holdover from the early 1990s when Toronto had a very active BBS and warez scene. Synonymous with snarf (sense 2), and contrast snarf (sense 4).
The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (30 December 2018):

leech Someone who downloads files but provides nothing for others to download. The term is common on BitTorrent, which relies on having multiple sources for files to improve download speed. (2007-03-27)