English

leechline

From leech + line.

A compound of leech + line

Old English lǣċe ‘blood-sucking worm’

Middle English leche ‘blood-sucking worm’

English leech

Proto-Germanic *līną ‘flax’

Proto-Germanic *līnǭ ‘line’

Proto-West Germanic *līnā ‘line’

Old English līne ‘line’

Middle English line ‘rope’

English line

Today it means

noun A line attached to the leech ropes of sails, passing up through blocks on the yards, to haul the leeches by.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / leechline