Meanings
plural leats · alternative leet
- An artificial watercourse, canal, or aqueduct, but especially a millrace.
His paws rested on a sunken branch. The water moved down, clouded with the mud-stirrings of the leat. He lay so still that the trout returned to their stances beside the stone sterlings.
1927, Henry William Williamson, Tarka the Otter, Chapter 19
Origin
- Proto-Germanic*lētą
- Old Englishġelǣte“a going out, ending, meeting”
- Middle Englishlete“a meeting or intersection of roads; junction; crossroads; conduit”
- Englishleat
Probably from Middle English lete (“a meeting or intersection of roads; junction; crossroads; conduit”), from Old English ġelǣte (“a going out, ending, meeting”), as in Old English wæterġelǣt (“watercourse, aquaduct”), from Proto-Germanic *lētą, *galētą (“a letting, a letting out”). Cognate with Old High German gilāz (“outlet, exit, end, road junction”), German Gelaß (“back room, recess, private chamber”). Related to English let.
More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-Germanic
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian воденичен улей
- воденичен улей (vodeničen ulej)artificial watercourse, canal or aqueduct
Portuguese levada
- levadaartificial watercourse, canal or aqueduct
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
leat. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/leat
“leat.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/leat. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “leat,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/leat.
Source: leat on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.