leach
verbEtymology From Middle English *lechen, *lecchen, from Old English leċċan, from Proto-Germanic *lakjaną, from Proto-Indo-European *leǵ- (“to leak”).
1
To purge a soluble matter out of something by the action of a percolating fluid.
- Heavy rainfall can leach out minerals important for plant growth from the soil.
- [T]he very wet winter will have washed much of the goodness out of the soil. Homemade compost and the load of manure we get from a friendly farmer may not be enough to compensate for what has leached from the ground.2014 April 21, Mary Keen, “You can still teach an old gardener new tricks: Even the hardiest of us gardeners occasionally learn useful new techniques [print version: Gardening is always ready to teach even the hardiest of us a few new tricks, 19 April 2014]”, in The Daily Telegraph (Gardening), page G7:
2
To part with soluble constituents by percolation.
- The gangue was leached to recover minerals left behind by the original technology.
3
Figuratively To bleed; to seep.
- A more generic geography, one where the suburb uneasily abuts the commercial and industrial, or leaches out to a nonurban frontier.2007, Andrew Shanken, “The Sublime "Jackass"”, in Places, volume 19:
- There's a second half to each video. He remembers now. He watched it passively, over and over, and never saw it. Something comes through. It's been leaching into the background of the world this whole time, in plain sight, and he never saw it, and it's here now—2019 April 10, qntm, “CASE HATE RED”, in There Is No Antimemetics Division, →ISBN, page 140:
- Derived terms
- bioleached, leachability, leachable, leachant, leachate, leach brine, leacher, leaching, unleached
- Related terms
- demineralize