*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of Leach

Two main origins: * Occupational surname for a physician, from Old English lǣċe (“doctor, physician”). * Topographic surname for someone who lived by a boggy stream, from Old English læcc (“boggy stream”) (related to Pro

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
name

A surname from Old English. · A census-designated place in Delaware County, Oklahoma, United States. · An unincorporated community in Carroll County, Tennessee, United States. · A river in Gloucestershire, with a short stretch in Oxfordshire, England, which joins the Thames at Lechlade; in full, the River Leach.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Two main origins: * Occupational surname for a physician, from Old English lǣċe (“doctor, physician”). * Topographic surname for someone who lived by a boggy stream, from Old English læcc (“boggy stream”) (related to Proto-Germanic *lekaną), or from several English placenames related to this (compare Leake).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Derivation mentionlǣċeang
  • Derivation mentionlæccang · boggy stream
  • Derivation mention*lekanągem-pro
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "lǣċe",
        "4": "",
        "5": "doctor, physician"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English lǣċe (“doctor, physician”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "læcc",
        "t": "boggy stream"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English læcc (“boggy stream”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*lekaną"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *lekaną"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "lǣċe",
      "læce#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "læcc",
      "læcc#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*lekaną",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/lekaną"
    ],
    [
      "Leake",
      "Leake#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "name",
      "glosses": [
        "A surname from Old English.",
        "A census-designated place in Delaware County, Oklahoma, United States.",
        "An unincorporated community in Carroll County, Tennessee, United States.",
        "A river in Gloucestershire, with a short stretch in Oxfordshire, England, which joins the Thames at Lechlade; in full, the River Leach."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable",
        "uncountable"
      ],
      "recordId": "1202628405bc51ce71384aad04abc744927dffec9ad2fc1cc2c598c3983e412b",
      "rawRecordSha256": "22cedff13b05d5c712658bfcac99fe0a5db02eafd660da040547806ac96162a0",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 5180766
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for Leach →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-TGVhY2g