leaky
adj/ˈliːki/
Etymology Likely a normalisation ( + -y) of earlier leak, leake, leke (“leaky”, adjective), 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”).
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.
1 more example
- Nuclear reactors in Russian submarines are said to be so leaky that crews are often paid "sterility money".1983, Michael Stephenson, Roger Hearn, The Nuclear Case Book:
2
Tending to leak secrets or information.
- The spooks' argument against this is that the secret service would become leaky and demoralised […]1986, The Spectator, volume 257, numbers 8252-8268, page 6: