lee

n. [ OE. lee shelter, Icel. hlē, akin to AS. hleó, hleów, shelter, protection, OS. hlèo, D. lij lee, Sw. lä, Dan. læ. ] 1. A sheltered place; esp., a place protected from the wind by some object; the side sheltered from the wind; shelter; protection; as, the lee of a mountain, an island, or a ship. [ 1913 Webster ]

We lurked under lee. Morte d'Arthure. [ 1913 Webster ]

Desiring me to take shelter in his lee. Tyndall. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Naut.) That part of the hemisphere, as one stands on shipboard, toward which the wind blows. See Lee, a. [ 1913 Webster ]

By the lee,
To bring by the lee. See under By, and Bring. --
Under the lee of, on that side which is sheltered from the wind; as, to be under the lee of a ship. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Lees [ F. lie, perh. fr. L. levare to lift up, raise. Cf. Lever. ] That which settles at the bottom, as of a cask of liquor (esp. wine); sediment; dregs; -- used now only in the plural. [ Lees occurs also as a form of the singular. ] “The lees of wine.” Holland. [ 1913 Webster ]

A thousand demons lurk within the lee. Young. [ 1913 Webster ]

The wine of life is drawn, and the mere lees
Is left this vault to brag of. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. (Naut.) Of or pertaining to the part or side opposite to that against which the wind blows; -- opposed to weather; as, the lee side or lee rail of a vessel. [ 1913 Webster ]

Lee gauge. See Gauge, n. (Naut.) --
Lee shore, the shore on the lee side of a vessel. --
Lee tide, a tide running in the same direction that the wind blows. --
On the lee beam, directly to the leeward; in a line at right angles to the length of the vessel and to the leeward. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A board, or frame of planks, lowered over the side of a vessel to lessen her leeway when closehauled, by giving her greater draught. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. LG. leik, Icel. līk, Sw. lik boltrope, stående 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 ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Leeched 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 ]

n. [ OE. leche, læche, physician, AS. l&aemacr_;ce; akin to Fries. lētza, OHG. lāhhī, Icel. læknari, Sw. läkare, Dan. læge, Goth. lēkeis, AS. lācnian to heal, Sw. läka, Dan. læge, Icel. lækna, Goth. lēkinōn. ] 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 ]

☞ 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 (Hæmopis 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 ]

n. See 2d Leach. [ 1913 Webster ]