Etymograph

English

leach

Leach comes from Middle English leche ‘leachate’, and goes back to Proto-Germanic *lēkijō ‘a leak, drain, flow’.

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*lēkijō1‘a leak, drain, flow’reconstructed
  2. Old Englishc. 450–1150*lǣċ1reconstructed
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500leche1‘leachate’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1894leach1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English leach
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1894, Robert Barr: “This is the leach," said Kitty, pointing to a…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*lēkijōWiktionary, English leach‘a leak, drain, flow’reconstructed
  2. Old Englishc. 450–1150*lǣċWiktionary, English leachreconstructed
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500lecheWiktionary, English leach‘leachate’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1894leachWiktionary, English leach. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1894, Robert Barr: “This is the leach," said Kitty, pointing to a…”

Linked words

through Old English *lǣċ

lack

through Middle English leche ‘leachate’

leech, 2 more

Another origin of leach

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*leǵ-‘to leak’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*lakjaną‘to make wet’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*lakkjanreconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150leċċan‘to water, irrigate’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500*lechenreconstructed
  6. Englishtodayleach

Today it means

noun A quantity of wood ashes, through which water passes, and thus imbibes the alkali.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “leach”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *lēkijō / leach

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