læce

Old English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈlæː.t͡ʃe/

Etymology 1

From Proto-West Germanic *lākī, from Proto-Germanic *lēkijaz. Cognate with Old Frisian lētza, Old Saxon lāki, Old High German lāhhi, Old Norse *lækir, Gothic 𐌻𐌴𐌺𐌴𐌹𐍃 (lēkeis).

Noun

lǣċe m

1. doctor (physician)
   • late 9th century, King Alfred's translation of Boethius' The Consolation of Philosophy

     Hine man sċeal lǣdan tō þām lǣċe.

     He should be taken to the doctor.

2. (in compounds) medical

Declension

Coordinate terms

• lācnestre

Derived terms

Descendants

• Middle English: leche
  • English: leech (archaic)

Etymology 2

Probably assimilated to Etymology 1 above, by popular etymology, though its use probably predated the term for a doctor.

Of uncertain ultimate origin, but possibly from a Germanic base meaning "to pluck, tear" (compare Old High German liochan (“to tear”)), evolving into "suck," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *lewǵ- (“to break, tear”), see also Ancient Greek λευγαλέος (leugaléos), λυγρός (lugrós), Sanskrit रुजति (rujati, “to break open, shatter, injure, cause pain”), Latvian lauzt (“to break, fracture”).

Cognate with Middle Dutch lake, leke (modern Dutch laak).

Noun

lǣċe m

1. leech

Declension

Descendants

• Middle English: leche
  • English: leech

References

• John R. Clark Hall (1960) “lǣce”, in A Concise Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, 4th edition, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, page 208