Name two English verbs that are spelled differently, pronounced the same, both of which have a meaning related to the removal of liquid from the interior of something. Answer after the jump.
The verbs are leech and leach. I would have guessed that these came from the same source, with a variation in spelling associated with one narrow sense of the word (like metal and mettle), but apparently not. Bonus word: leech, a nautical term, not etymologically related to the other two.
Doesn't leach technically mean to remove a solid from something by application of a liquid? I.e., if you let the rice soak too long in the water, all of the starch will leach out?
Posted by: Andrew | April 01, 2006 at 01:27 PM
Yeah, leaching involves passing a liquid through something to remove a soluble substance. That's why I wrote "related to the removal of liquid"—leaching is really the removal of something solid, but it's accomplished by the removal of the liquid it's dissoved in.
Posted by: The Tensor | April 01, 2006 at 02:12 PM