leaky

English

Etymology

Likely a normalisation ( +‎ -y) of earlier leak, leake, leke (“leaky”, adj), from Middle English leke (“leaky”), from Old English hlec, *lec (“having cracks or rents; leaky”), from Proto-Germanic *lekaz (“leaking; leaky”). By surface analysis, leak +‎ -y. Cognate with Scots lek, leck (“leaky”), Saterland Frisian läk (“leaky”), Dutch lek (“leaky”), German Low German leck (“leaky”), German leck (“leaky”), Swedish läck (“leaky”), Icelandic lekur (“leaky”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈliːki/
• Rhymes: -iːki
• Homophone: leeky

Adjective

leaky (comparative leakier, superlative leakiest)

1. Having leaks; not fully sealed.

   The leaky bucket dripped only one drop at a time, but by the time I got back to the house it was half empty.

   The ceiling was so leaky that someone had to fix it.

   • 1983, Michael Stephenson, Roger Hearn, The Nuclear Case Book:

     Nuclear reactors in Russian submarines are said to be so leaky that crews are often paid "sterility money".

Derived terms

• leakiness
• leaky abstraction
• leaky brain syndrome
• leaky bucket
• leaky gut syndrome
• nonleaky

 

Translations

having leaks; allows contents to escape

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• Finnish: vuotava (fi)
• French: percé (fr)
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• Hungarian: folyó (hu), lyukas (hu)
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• Latin: fūtilis
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• Maori: turuturu, wairere
• Plautdietsch: lakjsch
• Polish: nieszczelny (pl)
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• Spanish: permeable
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Anagrams

• Eakly, Kaley, Kealy, Keyla, Lakey, kayle, leyak