horse-leech en · NOUN
Etymology
From Middle English horseleche, horse leche (“horse doctor; bloodsucker, leech”), equivalent to horse + leech. The worm is so called because it commonly attacks the membrane that lines the inside of the mouth and nostrils of animals, such as horses, that drink at pools where it lives.
Meanings
-
A type of sucking worm, Haemopis sanguisuga, larger than the common leech.
Some use horse-leeches behind the ears, and apply opium to the place.
1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC, partition II, section 5, member 1, subsection vi:
- (obsolete) A veterinarian for horses.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| horse-leeches | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Relateds
Translations (17)
njo-jgl melet (Haemopis sanguisuga) · et hobukaan (Haemopis sanguisuga) · he עֲלוּקָה (Haemopis sanguisuga) · ota اشك سولوكی (Haemopis sanguisuga) · sv hästigel (Haemopis sanguisuga) · hu lópióca (Haemopis sanguisuga) · no hesteigle (Haemopis sanguisuga) · cmn 馬蛭 /马蛭 (Haemopis sanguisuga) · ja ウマヒル (Haemopis sanguisuga) · ko 말거머리 (Haemopis sanguisuga) · vi đỉa trâu (Haemopis sanguisuga) · cs pijavka koňská (Haemopis sanguisuga) · pl pijawka końska (Haemopis sanguisuga) · ru ко́нская пия́вка (Haemopis sanguisuga) · ga súmaire (Haemopis sanguisuga) · de Pferdeegel (Haemopis sanguisuga) · fi hevosjuotikas (Haemopis sanguisuga)