sleech

English

Alternative forms

• sleach (verb)

Etymology

From Middle English sliche, a variant of slicche, from Old English *sliċ (“mud, sludge”), from Proto-West Germanic *sliki, from Proto-Germanic *slikiz (“mud, slush”), from Proto-Indo-European *sleyg- (“to slide, be slippery”). Doublet of slitch and sludge.

Noun

sleech (countable and uncountable, plural sleeches)

1. Thick, soft mud that was left behind by flowing water, usually alongside riverbeds or shorelines.
2. (Northern Ireland) A soft, unstable mixture of mud and clay beneath Belfast, which is known for being difficult to build on.
   • 1970, Manning, P. I., Geology of Belfast and the Lagan Valley, H.M. Stationery Off., page 147

     The physical nature and engineering properties of the sleech have made it desirable to investigate each site before piling.

Derived terms

• sleechy

Verb

sleech (third-person singular simple present sleeches, present participle sleeching, simple past and past participle sleeched)

1. (dialectal) To dip a vessel into water to fill it; to scoop up water, as with a bucket.
2. (Scotland) To coax, cajole.