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  1. lees love

Definitions

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

  1. n. Sediment settling during fermentation, especially in wine; dregs.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

  1. n. plural See lee.
  2. n. A Middle English form of leash.
  3. n. See lease.

Wiktionary

  1. n. The sediment that settles during fermentation of beverages, consisting of dead yeast and precipitated parts of the fruit.
  2. n. sailing Plural form of lee.

GNU Webster's 1913

  1. n. Dregs. See 2d lee.
  2. n. obsolete A leash.

WordNet 3.0

  1. n. the sediment from fermentation of an alcoholic beverage

Etymologies

  1. Old French lies, from Medieval Latin liæ (plural of lias), from Gaulish *liga 'silt, sediment', akin to Welsh llai, Old Breton leh 'deposit, silt' (modern lec'hi 'lees'). (Wiktionary)
  2. Middle English lies, pl. of lie, from Old French, from Medieval Latin lia, probably of Celtic origin; see legh- in Indo-European roots. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)

Examples

  • “Before dinner, we heard a powerful lecture on the environment by r. martin lees, and then not long after we ate, it was announced there was a singer in the room.”

    The Huffington Post: Jimmy Demers: "Is This Really Happening?"

  • “This they either lick up or drink mixed with milk, and from its lees, that is the solid part, they make cakes and use them for food; for they have not many cattle, since the pastures there are by no means good.”

    The History of Herodotus

  • “Grape juice, when first expressed from its ruddy chalice, is impure and thick; it is left in vessels for a time till fermentation has done its work, and a thick sediment, called lees, has been precipitated to the bottom.”

    Simon & Schuster: GOD Will Make a Way

  • “He wrote that the animals were being fed waste by-products from a winery, known as lees, as”

    The Globe and Mail - Home RSS feed

  • “The effect of wealthy undisturbed ease ( "lees") on the ungodly is hardening: they become stupidly secure (compare Ps 55: 19; Am 6: 1).”

    Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

  • “The “passengers” were two strains of bacteria: lactic acid bacteria used in ordinary yogurt and a unique strain of Lactobacillus paracasei cultured from pickles preserved in the dregs of sake called sake lees, which is thought to enhance the body’s immunity to disease.”

    Space Yogurt » Fanboy.com

  • “It was applied to "lees" from the custom of allowing wine to stand on the lees that it might thereby be better preserved (Isa.”

    Easton's Bible Dictionary

  • “A prophecy in Jeremiah compares them to an old bottle of wine which has aged without being disturbed, its "lees" have been allowed to settle at the bottom (”

    CreationWiki - Recent changes [en]

  • “I think they want the Dems to obstruct the nomination and will wait until that time to throw themselves upon the cheesy-puff dust covered mosaic and wailing like cholic stricken baybehs about agendas and whatnot other silliness that lees in their curdled minds.”

    Think Progress » As Obama Nominees Languish, Committee Schedules Vote On Right-Wing McConnell Nominee

  • “Hopefully this "full court pressure" will include calling out players who are being lees than honest with their criticisms.”

    President Obama's full court press on health care

Show 10 more examples...

Lists

These user-created lists contain the word ‘lees’.

Comments

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  • reallifepixel It is Celtic in origin. Oct 19, 2009

  • slumry Very nice. There are often lees in a bottle of wine, too--especially old wine. Jul 11, 2007

  • seanahan Evidently this means the crud at the bottom of a barrel of wine, sediment left over from fermentation. So essentially, to drink life to the lees you are "enjoying every last drop". It's funny how metaphors get recycled with new words. Jul 11, 2007

  • seanahan I cannot rest from travel: I will drink
    Life to the lees: all times I have enjoyed
    Greatly, have suffered greatly, both with those
    That loved me, and alone; on shore Jul 11, 2007

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‘lees’ has been looked up 2468 times, added to 15 lists, commented on 4 times, and has a Scrabble score of 4.