Leach Definition
lēch
leached, leaches, leaching
verb
leached, leaches, leaching
To lose soluble matter as a result of the filtering through of water.
Soil that has leached badly.
Webster's New World
To subject to the washing action of a filtering liquid.
Wood ashes are leached to extract lye.
Webster's New World
To cause (a liquid) to filter down through some material.
Webster's New World
To dissolve and be washed away.
Webster's New World
To empty; drain.
American Heritage
noun
leaches
The action of leaching.
Webster's New World
A porous, perforated, or sievelike vessel that holds material to be leached.
American Heritage
A sievelike container used in leaching.
Webster's New World
The substance through which a liquid is leached.
American Heritage
Webster's New World
Synonyms:
Origin of Leach
-
From Middle English leche (“leachate"), from Old English *lǣċ, *lǣċe (“muddy stream"), from Proto-Germanic *lÄ“kijō (“a leak, drain, flow"), from Proto-Germanic *lÄ“k-, *lak-, *likanÄ… (“to leak, drain"), from Proto-Indo-European *leg(')- (“to leak"). Cognate with Old English leÄ‹Ä‹an (“to water, moisten"), Old English lacu (“stream, pool, pond"). More at leak, lake.
From Wiktionary
From Middle English leche leachate from Old English lece muddy stream akin to leccan to moisten
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
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