From Middle English lee, from Old English hlēo, hlēow (“shelter, protection”), from Proto-West Germanic *hlaiw (whence also Proto-Slavic *xlěvъ), 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”)).
Meanings
(not-comparable) Facing away from the flow of a fluid, usually air.
From Middle English lee, from Old English hlēo, hlēow (“shelter, protection”), from Proto-West Germanic *hlaiw (whence also Proto-Slavic *xlěvъ), 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”)).
Meanings
A protected cove or harbor, out of the wind.
The side of the ship away from the wind.
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
He turned into Cumberland street and, going on some paces, halted in the lee of the station wall. No-one. 1922 February 2, James Joyce, “[Episode 5]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company […], →OCLC:
We lurked under lee. 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:
Desiring me to take shelter in his lee. 1873, John Tyndall, “Niagara”, in Fragments of Science, published 1907, page 182:
mk за́вет (protected cove or harbor, out of the wind) · sh závjetrina (side of the ship away from the wind) · gl socairo (sheltered place, especially a place protected from the wind by some object) · nl luwte (protected cove or harbor, out of the wind) · uk укриття (sheltered place, especially a place protected from the wind by some object) · bg подветрена страна (side of the ship away from the wind) · cs závětří (sheltered place, especially a place protected from the wind by some object) · ga taobh an fhoscaidh (side of the ship away from the wind) · ru подве́тренная сторона́ (side of the ship away from the wind) · nl lijzij (side of the ship away from the wind) · tr boca (side of the ship away from the wind) · es sotavento (side of the ship away from the wind) · sv läsida (side of the ship away from the wind) · ga fothain (sheltered place, especially a place protected from the wind by some object) · ca recer (sheltered place, especially a place protected from the wind by some object) · sh závetrina (side of the ship away from the wind) · fi suojanpuoli (side of the ship away from the wind) · fi suojasatama (protected cove or harbor, out of the wind) · sv lä (sheltered place, especially a place protected from the wind by some object) · ca refugi (protected cove or harbor, out of the wind) · sk závetrie (sheltered place, especially a place protected from the wind by some object) · uk підвітряний бік (side of the ship away from the wind) · fi tuulensuoja (protected cove or harbor, out of the wind) · ga taobh na fothana (side of the ship away from the wind) · sh за́вјетрина (side of the ship away from the wind) · de Lee (side of the ship away from the wind) · mk за́вет (sheltered place, especially a place protected from the wind by some object) · sh за́ветрина (side of the ship away from the wind) · fi lee (sheltered place, especially a place protected from the wind by some object) · ota پوجه (side of the ship away from the wind) · hu szélárnyék (sheltered place, especially a place protected from the wind by some object) · fr abri (side of the ship away from the wind) · es socaire (sheltered place, especially a place protected from the wind by some object) · ga fothain (protected cove or harbor, out of the wind) · fi lee (side of the ship away from the wind) · hu széltől védett hely (sheltered place, especially a place protected from the wind by some object) · ms lindungan (protected cove or harbor, out of the wind) · uk захист (sheltered place, especially a place protected from the wind by some object) · tr masun (protected cove or harbor, out of the wind) · pl zawietrzna (side of the ship away from the wind) · nl lijzijde (side of the ship away from the wind) · fi tuulensuoja (sheltered place, especially a place protected from the wind by some object) · cs závětrná strana (side of the ship away from the wind) · mk заве́трина (side of the ship away from the wind) · bg завет (sheltered place, especially a place protected from the wind by some object) · nl lij (side of the ship away from the wind) · sk záveterrná strana (side of the ship away from the wind) · sv lä (side of the ship away from the wind) · bg завет (protected cove or harbor, out of the wind) · sv lä (protected cove or harbor, out of the wind)
A thousand demons lurk within the lee. 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:
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 […] 1865, John Francis Davis, Chinese Miscellanies: A Collection of Essays and Notes, page 184: