lich

See also -lich, and lịch

English

Wikipedia

Etymology

From Old English līċ, from Proto-Germanic *līką, from Proto-Indo-European *līg-. Cognate with Dutch lijk, German Leiche, Norwegian lik, Swedish lik, Danish lig. Compare like, -like, -ly.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /lɪtʃ/
• Rhymes: -ɪtʃ

Noun

lich (plural liches)

1. (archaic) A corpse or dead body. [from 9th c.]
2. (fantasy, roleplay) A reanimated corpse or undead being.
   • 1974, Karl Edward Wagner, ‘Sticks’:

     It was a lich’s face – desiccated flesh tight over its skull.

Translations

undead being

• Czech: lich (cs) m, kostěj (cs) m
• Dutch: Zielenzuiger (nl)
• French: liche (fr)
• German: Lich (de)

• Lithuanian: ličas (lt) m
• Polish: lisz (pl) m
• Russian: лич (ru) (lič)
• Spanish: liche (es)

Derived terms

• lichgate
• lych-gate

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Middle English

Noun

lich (plural lichs)

1. A body.
   • 1362, William Langland, Piers Plowman, XI.2:

     A wyf […] Þat lene was of lich and of louh chere.