English
leechdom
Leechdom comes from Old English lǣċedōm ‘medicament, medicine’, and goes back to Proto-West Germanic *lākijadōm.
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*lākijadōmreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150lǣċedōm‘medicament, medicine’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500lechedom
- Englishearliest quotation 1864leechdom
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*lākijadōmreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150lǣċedōm‘medicament, medicine’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500lechedom
- Englishearliest quotation 1864leechdom
Earliest quotation: 1864, Thomas Oswald Cockayne, Leechdoms: “That shall be a leechdom for her, for the…”
Formed from leech + -dom
Every English word from Proto-West Germanic *lākijadōm
Today it means
noun A medicine; remedy.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-West Germanic *lākijadōm / leechdom