Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “leak” come from?

Leak comes from Middle English leke, from Middle Dutch leken, from Old Dutch lekan, from Proto-Indo-European leg-.

leak (English): A crack, crevice, fissure, or hole which admits...

Definitions

  1. A crack, crevice, fissure, or hole which admits...

Ancestry of “leak”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishlekento let water in or out
2Middle Dutchlēken—
3Old Dutchlekan—
4Proto-West Germanic*lekan—
5Proto-GermaniclekanąTo leak; seep; drip
6Proto-Indo-Europeanleg-to leak

Words derived from “leak”

  • leakage
  • leaks
  • leaky
  • leakiness
  • microleakage
  • leakproof
  • leaker
  • aleak
  • nonleaky
  • antileak
  • leakless
  • superleak
  • leakproofness
  • leaketh
  • leakily
  • inleak
  • antileakage
  • leakee
  • microleak
  • leakest
  • megaleak
  • Leakgate
  • nonleaker
  • endoleakage
Every word from Proto-Indo-European leg- →