Wiktionary

lek

See also: Lek, lék, lęk, łęk, -lek, -lék, and lək

Translingual

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Symbol

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lek

  1. (international standards) ISO 639-3 language code for Leipon.

See also

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English

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WOTD – 6 April 2012
 
English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia
 
English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /lɛk/
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Rhymes: -ɛk

Alternative forms

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Etymology 1

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From Germanic roots meaning "play". In the biology sense, it comes specifically from Swedish lek (“child's play”), by means of Swedish leka (“to play”). The verb is first attested in English in 1871 and the noun at least as early as 1867.

Noun

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lek (plural leks)

  2. (biology) An aggregation of male animals for the purposes of courtship and display.
    • 1975, Edward O. Wilson, Sociobiology: The New Synthesis, figure caption, 2000, page 333,
      Each of the three displaying cocks occupies a small territory at the mating center of the lek.
    • 1997, John Kricher, A Neotropical Companion, →ISBN, page 278:
      Given that a combination of factors have "released" males from attending nests, why have some species organized their courtship bouts in leks, especially the tightly clumped leks that are typical of manakins and cocks-of-the-rock?
    • 2007, Kentwood D. Wells, The Ecology and Behavior of Amphibians, page 352:
      Nevertheless, it does appear that many of the processes of mate choice and sexual selection described for bird and mammal leks also apply to anuran choruses.
Derived terms
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Translations
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Verb

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lek (third-person singular simple present leks, present participle lekking, simple past and past participle lekked)

  1. (biology, intransitive) To take part in the courtship and display behaviour of a lek.
    • 1994, M. B. Andersson, Sexual Selection, page 164:
      Males in many lekking species have conspicuous morphological ornaments that may be targets of female choice, but male contest competition may also be involved.
    • 2000, George Barlow, The Cichlid Fishes: Nature's Grand Experiment In Evolution, page 79:
      The second reason lekking is so fascinating is because the males aggregate.
    • 2010, Boaz Yuval, Jorge Hendrichs 17: Behavior of Fruit Fly in the Genus Ceratitis (Dacinae: Ceratitidini), Martin Aluja, Allen Norrbom (editors), Fruit Flies (Tephritidae): Phylogeny and Evolution of Behavior, page 437,
      In a recent study (Yuval et al. 1998), the size and weight of males captured either lekking or resting at the same time in the vicinity of leks were measured.
    • 2010, Robert Michael Pyle, Mariposa Road: The First Butterfly Big Year, unnumbered page:
      Half a dozen of the thumbnail-size males lekked in a sunny glade.
  2. (UK, dialect, Yorkshire, colloquial) To play.
    T’lads is lekkin i t’park.
Translations
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Usage notes

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  A user suggests that this English entry be cleaned up, giving the reason: “clarify ‘lek’ vs ‘laik’ areas”.
Please see the discussion on Requests for cleanup(+) or the talk page for more information and remove this template after the problem has been dealt with.

The Yorkshire dialect word is rarely written and is pronounced differently in the different Ridings of Yorkshire. Compare laik, layk.

Etymology 2

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From Albanian lek, named after Alexander the Great, whose name is often shortened to Leka in Albanian.

Noun

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lek (plural leks or lek or leku or lekë)

  2. The currency unit of Albania, divided into 100 qindarka.
    • 1992, Mario I. Bléjer, Albania: From Isolation Toward Reform, page 56:
      With the loss of control by the Government over foreign exchange surrender requirements and the almost complete depletion of foreign exchange reserves, in early 1992 the official rate was further devalued to leks 50 = $1.
    • 1997, Igor Artimiev, Gary J. Fine, Country Studies: Albania, Ira W. Lieberman, Stilpon S. Nestor, Raj M. Desai, Between State and Market: Mass Privatization in Transition Economies, page 178,
      Enterprise shares are sold at voucher auctions in exchange for either immaterial privatization leks (through a bank transfer from the bidder's privatization lek account) or through privatization vouchers, which are submitted at the time of bidding.
    • 2003, Iraj Hoshi, Ewa Balcerowicz, Leszek Balcerowicz, Barriers to Entry and Growth of New Firms in Early Transition, page 253:
      Value Added Tax is another tax imposed on all enterprises with a yearly turnover of more than 2 million Leks. VAT was introduced in the Albanian tax system in 1995 replacing the old turnover tax.
Translations
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Anagrams

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Albanian

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Etymology

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From Lekë,[1] after Leka i Madh (“Alexander the Great”).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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lek m (plural lekë)

  1. lek (the currency unit of Albania)
  2. money, cash
    Synonyms: para, të holla

Declension

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Declension of lek
singular plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative lek leku lekë lekët
accusative lekun
dative leku lekut lekëve lekëve
ablative lekësh

Descendants

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  • → English: lek

References

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  1. ^ Newmark, L., Hubbard, P., Prifti, P. (1982) Standard Albanian: a reference grammar for students, Stanford University Press, →ISBN, § 3.2.1 A, page 127

Further reading

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Czech

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Etymology

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Deverbal from lekat.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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lek m inan

  1. Synonym of leknutí

Declension

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Declension of lek (velar masculine inanimate)
singular plural
nominative lek leky
genitive leku leků
dative leku lekům
accusative lek leky
vocative leku leky
locative leku lecích
instrumental lekem leky

Further reading

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  • “lek”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
  • “lek”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989
  • “lek”, in Internetová jazyková příručka (in Czech), 2008–2025

Dutch

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Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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From Middle Dutch lek, from Old Dutch *lek, from Proto-West Germanic *lek, from Proto-Germanic *lekaz; compare Old English hlec, Icelandic lekur.

Adjective

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lek (comparative lekker, superlative lekst)

  1. leaky
Declension
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Declension of lek
uninflected lek
inflected lekke
comparative lekker
positive comparative superlative
predicative/adverbial lek lekker het lekst
het lekste
indefinite m./f. sing. lekke lekkere lekste
n. sing. lek lekker lekste
plural lekke lekkere lekste
definite lekke lekkere lekste
partitive leks lekkers —

Etymology 2

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From Middle Dutch lek, either a substantivization of the adjective at Etymology 1 above, or a deverbal from lecken, lēken.

Noun

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lek n (plural lekken, diminutive lekje n)

  1. leak

Etymology 3

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See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

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lek

  1. inflection of lekken:
    1. first-person singular present indicative
    2. (in case of inversion) second-person singular present indicative
    3. imperative

Anagrams

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French

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Noun

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lek m (plural leks)

  1. lek (currency)

Hungarian

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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lek (plural lekek)

  1. lek (the currency unit of Albania)

Declension

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Inflection (stem in -e-, front unrounded harmony)
singular plural
nominative lek lekek
accusative leket lekeket
dative leknek lekeknek
instrumental lekkel lekekkel
causal-final lekért lekekért
translative lekké lekekké
terminative lekig lekekig
essive-formal lekként lekekként
essive-modal — —
inessive lekben lekekben
superessive leken lekeken
adessive leknél lekeknél
illative lekbe lekekbe
sublative lekre lekekre
allative lekhez lekekhez
elative lekből lekekből
delative lekről lekekről
ablative lektől lekektől
non-attributive
possessive – singular 		leké lekeké
non-attributive
possessive – plural 		lekéi lekekéi
Possessive forms of lek
possessor single possession multiple possessions
1st person sing. lekem lekjeim
2nd person sing. leked lekjeid
3rd person sing. lekje lekjei
1st person plural lekünk lekjeink
2nd person plural leketek lekjeitek
3rd person plural lekjük lekjeik

Anagrams

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Isthmus Mixe

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Noun

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lek

  1. toad

References

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  • Dieterman, Julia, McCarty, James Michael, Jr., Castañón López, Victoriano, Castañón Eugenio, María Dolores (2018) Breve diccionario del mixe del Istmo: Mogoñé Viejo, Oaxaca (Serie de vocabularios y diccionarios indígenas “Mariano Silva y Aceves”; 52)‎[1] (in Spanish), Instituto Lingüístico de Verano, A.C., page 37

Middle English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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Inherited from Old English lēac, lēc, from Proto-West Germanic *lauk, from Proto-Germanic *laukaz.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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lek (plural lekes)

  1. A plant in the genus Allium (often used as vegetables):
    1. Garlic (Allium sativum)
    2. Leek (Allium ampeloprasum)
  2. (in expressions) Something of little value.
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Descendants

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References

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Norwegian Bokmål

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Etymology 1

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From Old Norse leikr.

Alternative forms

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Noun

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lek m (definite singular leken, indefinite plural leker, definite plural lekene)

  1. play, playing
  2. a game, contest
    de olympiske leker ― the Olympic Games
Derived terms
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Etymology 2

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Norwegian Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia no

From Albanian lek.

Noun

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lek m (indeclinable)

  1. the lek, currency of Albania.

Etymology 3

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See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

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lek

  1. imperative of leke

References

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Anagrams

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Norwegian Nynorsk

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Etymology 1

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From Old Norse leikr, through Middle Low German from Ancient Greek λαϊκός (laïkós, “popular”).

Adjective

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lek (neuter lekt, definite singular and plural leke, comparative lekare, indefinite superlative lekast, definite superlative lekaste)

  1. lay

Etymology 2

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From Old Norse lekr.

Alternative forms

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  • lekk (adjective and noun)

Adjective

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lek (neuter lekt, definite singular and plural leke, comparative lekare, indefinite superlative lekast, definite superlative lekaste)

  1. leaky

Noun

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lek m (definite singular leken, indefinite plural lekar, definite plural lekane)

  1. a leak

Etymology 3

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See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

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lek

  1. inflection of leka:
    1. present
    2. imperative

References

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Anagrams

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Old Javanese

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Etymology

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Unknown, probably from Proto-Mon-Khmer *leh (“to go down, go out”).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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lek

  1. moon; month
    Synonyms: candra, śaśi, soma, wulan, windu

Derived terms

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Descendants

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Old Norse

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Adjective

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lek

  1. inflection of lekr:
    1. positive degree strong feminine nominative singular
    2. positive degree strong neuter nominative/accusative plural

Verb

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lek

  1. inflection of leka:
    1. first-person singular present indicative
    2. second-person singular imperative

Polish

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Polish Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia pl

Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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Inherited from Proto-Slavic *lěkъ.

Alternative forms

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Noun

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lek m inan (related adjective lekowy)

  1. (medicine) medicine, drug (substance which promotes healing)
    Synonyms: lekarstwo, medykament, specyfik
Declension
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Declension of lek
singular plural
nominative lek leki
genitive leku leków
dative lekowi lekom
accusative lek leki
instrumental lekiem lekami
locative leku lekach
vocative leku leki

Etymology 2

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Borrowed from Albanian lek.

Noun

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lek m animal

  1. lek (currency of Albania)
Declension
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Declension of lek
singular plural
nominative lek leki
genitive leka leków
dative lekowi lekom
accusative leka leki
instrumental lekiem lekami
locative leku lekach
vocative leku leki

Further reading

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  • lek in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
  • lek in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Samoan Plantation Pidgin

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Etymology

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From English leg.

Noun

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lek

  1. leg, foot (of a human)
  2. limb (of an animal)

References

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  • Mosel, Ulrike (1980) Tolai and Tok Pisin: the influence of the substratum on the development of New Guinea Pidgin (Pacific Linguistics; Series B, no. 73)‎[2], Canberra: Australian National University, →ISBN

Serbo-Croatian

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Alternative forms

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Etymology 1

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Inherited from Proto-Slavic *lěkъ, borrowed from Gothic 𐌻𐌴𐌺𐌴𐌹𐍃 (lēkeis, “physician”).[1] Compare Old Norse læknir, Old High German lahhi, Danish læge.

Noun

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lȇk m (Cyrillic spelling ле̑к)

  1. medicine
Declension
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Declension of lek
singular plural
nominative lek lekovi
genitive leka lekova
dative leku lekovima
accusative lek lekove
vocative leče lekovi
locative leku lekovima
instrumental lekom lekovima
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References

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  1. ^ Petar Skok, Etimologijski rječnik hrvatskoga ili srpskoga jezika, Z., 1971, v. 2, p. 296: Obično se uzimlje da je praslavenska riječ posuđena iz gotske radne imenice lekeis

Etymology 2

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Inherited from Proto-Slavic *lěkъ, from Proto-Indo-European *loykʷós.

Noun

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lȇk m (Cyrillic spelling ле̑к)

  1. little quantity
    Nema mesta ni za lek(a). ― There is absolutely no place.
Declension
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Declension of lek
singular plural
nominative lek lekovi
genitive leka lekova
dative leku lekovima
accusative lek lekove
vocative leče lekovi
locative leku lekovima
instrumental lekom lekovima

Slovene

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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lẹ̑k m inan

  1. medicine

Declension

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 The diacritics used in this section of the entry are non-tonal. If you are a native tonal speaker, please help by adding the tonal marks.
Masculine inan., hard o-stem
nominative lék
genitive léka
singular
nominative
(imenovȃlnik) 		lék
genitive
(rodȋlnik) 		léka
dative
(dajȃlnik) 		léku
accusative
(tožȋlnik) 		lék
locative
(mẹ̑stnik) 		léku
instrumental
(orọ̑dnik) 		lékom

Swedish

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Swedish Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia sv

Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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From Old Norse leikr.

Noun

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lek c

  1. (uncountable) (child's) play; typically denotes pleasurable and less rule-bound games and activities – "play" more in the sense of "engage in play" than "play a game"
    De iakttog barnens lek
    They watched the children's play(ing)
  2. (countable) a particular game or activity (associated with child's play)
    Ska vi leka en lek? Vi kan låtsas vara björnar.
    Want to play a game? (Or, "Want to engage in a type of play?") We can pretend to be bears.
  3. a game, playing (more generally, sometimes with relaxed or nonchalant connotations)
    en lek med döden
    playing with death ("a play(ing) with death")
    vindens lek med löven
    the wind playing with the leaves ("the wind's play(ing) with the leaves")
  4. a deck of cards
    Synonym: kortlek
    Hur många kort är det i leken?
    How many cards are in the deck?
  5. (biology) lek
Usage notes
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Not restricted to children by definition, but has childish connotations. See also leka.

Declension
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Declension of lek
nominative genitive
singular indefinite lek leks
definite leken lekens
plural indefinite lekar lekars
definite lekarna lekarnas
Derived terms
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Etymology 2

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Verb

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lek

  1. imperative of leka

References

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Tok Pisin

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Etymology

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From English leg.

Noun

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lek

  1. leg, foot
    • 1989, Buk Baibel long Tok Pisin, Port Moresby: Bible Society of Papua New Guinea, Jenesis 3:15:
      Na bai mi mekim yu i stap birua bilong meri, na meri i stap birua bilong yu. Na bai mi mekim ol lain bilong yu i birua long lain bilong meri. Bai ol i krungutim het bilong yu, na bai yu kaikaim lek bilong ol.”
      →New International Version translation
  2. footprint
  3. hindleg (of an animal)

References

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  • Mosel, Ulrike (1980) Tolai and Tok Pisin: the influence of the substratum on the development of New Guinea Pidgin (Pacific Linguistics; Series B, no. 73)‎[3], Canberra: Australian National University, →ISBN

Tzotzil

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Pronunciation

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  • (Zinacantán) IPA(key): /lɛkʰ/

Adjective

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lek

  1. good
    Antonym: chopol

Derived terms

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(Verbal phrases)

References

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Zhuang

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Proto-Tai *ʰlekᴰ (“iron”), from Old Chinese 鐵 (OC *l̥ʰiːɡ, “iron”). Cognate with Thai เหล็ก (lèk), Lao ເຫຼັກ (lek), Shan လဵၵ်း (láek), Lü ᦵᦜᧅ (l̇ek), Tai Nüa ᥘᥥᥐᥱ (lěk), Ahom 𑜎𑜢𑜀𑜫 (lik), Nong Zhuang liak. Doublet of diet.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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lek (1957–1982 spelling lek)

  1. (dialectal) iron (metal)
    Synonym: diet
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