lee

See also: Appendix:Variations of "lee"

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /liː/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -iː
• Homophones: lea, Lea, Lee, leigh, Leigh, li, Li, Lie

Etymology 1

From Middle English lee, from Old English hlēo, hlēow (“shelter, protection”), from Proto-West Germanic *hlaiw, from Proto-Germanic *hlaiwaz (compare German Lee (“lee”), Swedish lä, Danish læ, Norwegian le, Old Norse hlé, Dutch lij), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱley- (compare Welsh clyd (“warm, cozy”), Latin calēre (“to warm up”), Lithuanian šiltas (“warm, pleasant”), Sanskrit शरद् (śarad, “autumn”)).

Noun

lee (plural lees)

1. (nautical) A protected cove or harbor, out of the wind.
2. (nautical) The side of the ship away from the wind.
3. A sheltered place, especially a place protected from the wind by some object; the side sheltered from the wind (see also leeside); shelter; protection.

   the lee of a mountain, an island, or a ship

   • 1470–1485 (date produced), Thomas Malory, “(please specify the chapter)”, in [Le Morte Darthur], (please specify the book number), [London: […] by William Caxton], published 31 July 1485, →OCLC; republished as H[einrich] Oskar Sommer, editor, Le Morte Darthur […], London: David Nutt, […], 1889, →OCLC:

     We lurked under lee.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

   • 1873, John Tyndall, “Niagara”, in Fragments of Science, published 1907, page 182:

     Desiring me to take shelter in his lee.

   • 1922 February, James Joyce, “[Episode 5]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company, […], →OCLC:

     He turned into Cumberland street and, going on some paces, halted in the lee of the station wall. No-one.

4. Calm, peace.

Antonyms

• (geology) stoss
• (nautical) weather, windward

Derived terms

• alee
• lee-ho
• leeward
• leeway
• under the lee

 

Translations

protected cove or harbor, out of the wind

• Bulgarian: завет (bg) m (zavet)
• Catalan: refugi (ca) m
• Dutch: luwte (nl) f
• Finnish: suojasatama, tuulensuoja (fi)
• Irish: fothain f
• Macedonian: за́вет m (závet)
• Malay: lindungan (ms)
• Swedish: lä (sv)
• Turkish: masun (tr)

side of the ship away from the wind

• Bulgarian: подветрена страна f (podvetrena strana)
• Dutch: lij (nl) f, lijzijde (nl) f, lijzij (nl) f
• Finnish: lee (fi), suojanpuoli (fi)
• French: abri (fr)
• German: Lee (de) f
• Irish: taobh na fothana m, taobh an fhoscaidh m
• Macedonian: заве́трина f (zavétrina)
• Polish: zawietrzna (pl) f
• Russian: подветренная сторона́ f (podvetrennaja storoná)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: за́вјетрина f (Ijekavian), за́ветрина f (Ekavian)

  Roman: závjetrina (sh) f (Ijekavian), závetrina (sh) f (Ekavian)

• Swedish: lä (sv) n, läsida (sv) c
• Ukrainian: підвітряний бік m (pidvitrjanyj bik)

sheltered place, especially a place protected from the wind by some object

• Bulgarian: завет (bg) m (zavet)
• Catalan: recer (ca) m
• Finnish: tuulensuoja (fi), lee (fi)
• Galician: socairo m
• Hungarian: szélárnyék (hu), széltől védett hely
• Irish: fothain f
• Macedonian: за́вет m (závet)
• Spanish: socaire m
• Swedish: lä (sv)
• Ukrainian: захист (uk) m (zaxyst), укриття n (ukryttja)

Adjective

lee (not comparable)

Lee side on the left; stoss side on the right

1. (nautical, geology) Facing away from the flow of a fluid, usually air.

   lee side, lee shore, lee helm

Derived terms

• lee gauge
• lee shore

 

Etymology 2

Noun

lee (uncountable)

1. (obsolete) Lees; dregs.
   • 1745, [Edward Young], “Night the Eighth. Virtue’s Apology: Or The Man of the World Answered. In which are Considered, the Love of This Life; the Ambition and Pleasure, with the Wit and Wisdom, of the World.”, in The Complaint: Or, Night-Thoughts on Life, Death, & Immortality, London: […] [Samuel Richardson] for A[ndrew] Millar […], and R[obert] Dodsley […], published 1750, →OCLC, page 264:

     A thousand demons lurk within the lee.

Etymology 3

Noun

lee (plural lees)

1. Obsolete form of li (“traditional Chinese unit of distance”).
   • 1865, John Francis Davis, Chinese Miscellanies: A Collection of Essays and Notes, page 184:

     Here, after little less than a month's protracted journey over a distance, by the Chinese itinerary, of 950 lees, and by our own calculation 280 miles, from the canal, we quitted the magnificent Keang to cross the lake […]

Further reading

• Lee in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)
• “lee”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• “lee”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.

See also

• on one's lee-lane (probably etymologically unrelated)

Anagrams

• ELE, eel

Afar

Etymology

Cognates include Saho lay.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈleː/, [ˈleː]
• Hyphenation: lee

Noun

lée f (plural lelwá f)

1. water

Declension

Declension of lée
absolutive	lée
predicative	lée
subjective	lée
genitive	lée
Postpositioned forms l-case léel k-case léek t-case léet h-case léeh

References

• Loren F. Bliese (1981) A Generative Grammar of Afar‎^[1], Dallas: Summer Institute of Linguistics and University of Texas at Arlington (doctoral thesis)., page 5
• E. M. Parker; R. J. Hayward (1985), “lee”, in An Afar-English-French dictionary (with Grammatical Notes in English), University of London, →ISBN
• Tomoyuki Yabe, The Morphosyntax of Complex Verbal Expressions in the Horn of Africa (2007), which cites Hayward (1976) as the source of a usage example lee fax-te "the water boiled"
• Mohamed Hassan Kamil (2015) L’afar: description grammaticale d’une langue couchitique (Djibouti, Erythrée et Ethiopie)‎^[2], Paris: Université Sorbonne Paris Cité (doctoral thesis), page 99

Belizean Creole

Adjective

lee

1. little

References

• Crosbie, Paul, ed. (2007), Kriol-Inglish Dikshineri: English-Kriol Dictionary. Belize City: Belize Kriol Project, p. 212.

Finnish

Etymology

< Swedish lä (“lee”)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈleː/, [ˈle̞ː]
• Rhymes: -eː
• Syllabification^(key): lee

Noun

lee

1. (nautical) lee (side of the ship away from the wind)
2. (nautical) lee (place protected from the wind by some object)

   saaren lee ― lee of an island

Declension

Inflection of lee (Kotus type 18/maa, no gradation)
nominative		lee	leet
genitive		leen	leiden leitten
partitive		leetä	leitä
illative		leehen	leihin
		singular	plural
nominative		lee	leet
accusative	nom.	lee	leet
	gen.	leen
genitive		leen	leiden leitten
partitive		leetä	leitä
inessive		leessä	leissä
elative		leestä	leistä
illative		leehen	leihin
adessive		leellä	leillä
ablative		leeltä	leiltä
allative		leelle	leille
essive		leenä	leinä
translative		leeksi	leiksi
abessive		leettä	leittä
instructive		—	lein
comitative		See the possessive forms below.

Possessive forms of lee (type maa)

first-person singular possessor singular plural nominative leeni leeni accusative nom. leeni leeni gen. leeni genitive leeni leideni leitteni partitive leetäni leitäni inessive leessäni leissäni elative leestäni leistäni illative leeheni leihini adessive leelläni leilläni ablative leeltäni leiltäni allative leelleni leilleni essive leenäni leinäni translative leekseni leikseni abessive leettäni leittäni instructive — — comitative — leineni second-person singular possessor singular plural nominative leesi leesi accusative nom. leesi leesi gen. leesi genitive leesi leidesi leittesi partitive leetäsi leitäsi inessive leessäsi leissäsi elative leestäsi leistäsi illative leehesi leihisi adessive leelläsi leilläsi ablative leeltäsi leiltäsi allative leellesi leillesi essive leenäsi leinäsi translative leeksesi leiksesi abessive leettäsi leittäsi instructive — — comitative — leinesi first-person plural possessor singular plural nominative leemme leemme accusative nom. leemme leemme gen. leemme genitive leemme leidemme leittemme partitive leetämme leitämme inessive leessämme leissämme elative leestämme leistämme illative leehemme leihimme adessive leellämme leillämme ablative leeltämme leiltämme allative leellemme leillemme essive leenämme leinämme translative leeksemme leiksemme abessive leettämme leittämme instructive — — comitative — leinemme second-person plural possessor singular plural nominative leenne leenne accusative nom. leenne leenne gen. leenne genitive leenne leidenne leittenne partitive leetänne leitänne inessive leessänne leissänne elative leestänne leistänne illative leehenne leihinne adessive leellänne leillänne ablative leeltänne leiltänne allative leellenne leillenne essive leenänne leinänne translative leeksenne leiksenne abessive leettänne leittänne instructive — — comitative — leinenne third-person possessor singular plural nominative leensä leensä accusative nom. leensä leensä gen. leensä genitive leensä leidensä leittensä partitive leetään leetänsä leitään leitänsä inessive leessään leessänsä leissään leissänsä elative leestään leestänsä leistään leistänsä illative leehensä leihinsä adessive leellään leellänsä leillään leillänsä ablative leeltään leeltänsä leiltään leiltänsä allative leelleen leellensä leilleen leillensä essive leenään leenänsä leinään leinänsä translative leekseen leeksensä leikseen leiksensä abessive leettään leettänsä leittään leittänsä instructive — — comitative — leineen leinensä

Synonyms

• (side of ship): suojanpuoli

Derived terms

• leenpuoleinen

Anagrams

• ele

Luxembourgish

Verb

lee

1. second-person singular imperative of leeën

Middle English

Etymology

From Old English lēogan.

Verb

lee

1. To lie; to speak falsely.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Chaucer to this entry?)

Northern Sotho

Noun

lee

1. egg

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From ledd.

Verb

lee (present tense leer, past tense lea or leet, past participle lea or leet)

1. to move; to make a body part, or a thing (such as a bolder), move

References

• “lee” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
• “lee” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).

Norwegian Nynorsk

Verb

lee (present tense lear, past tense lea, past participle lea, passive infinitive least, present participle leande, imperative lee/le)

1. Alternative form of lea

Scots

Etymology

From Old English lēogan.

Verb

lee (third-person singular simple present lees, present participle leein, simple past leet, past participle leet)

1. To lie (tell lies).
   • 1876, S[arah] R. Whitehead, “On the Wrong Coach”, in Daft Davie and Other Sketches of Scottish Life and Character, London: Hodder and Stoughton, […], →OCLC, page 220:

     ‘It’s a lee,’ says the man; ‘she’s either drunk or daft.’ / ‘Me drunk, you ill-tongued vagabond!’ says my Auntie Kirsty, who couldna bear such a reproach on her good name, ‘I’m a’ but blackfasting this day from either meat or drink; you had better no meddle wi’ my character.’

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈlee/ [ˈle.e]
• Rhymes: -ee
• Syllabification: le‧e

Verb

lee

1. inflection of leer:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Tswana

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈlɪ.ɪ/

Noun

lee class 5 (plural mae)

1. egg

Yola

Etymology 1

From Middle English lien, liggen, liȝen, from Old English liċġan, from Proto-West Germanic *liggjan.

Alternative forms

• lidge, leigh, leiough

Verb

lee (second-person singular simple present leeesth, simple past lidg'd)

1. to lie, lay

Etymology 2

Verb

lee

1. Alternative form of laave (“leave”)

References

• Jacob Poole (1867), William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, page 52