lek

1
[ lek ]

noun
  1. a traditional place where males assemble during the mating season and engage in competitive displays that attract females.

verb (used without object),lekked, lek·king.
  1. (of a male) to assemble in a lek and engage in competitive displays.

Origin of lek

1
1865–70; <Swedish: mating ground (perhaps elliptically from lekställe), mating, game, play, Old Norse leikr play, cognate with Old English lāc struggle, offering, gift, Gothic laiks dance, Old High German leih melody

Words Nearby lek

Other definitions for lek (2 of 3)

lek2
[ lek ]

noun
  1. an aluminum coin and monetary unit of Albania, equal to 100 qintars.

Origin of lek

2
Borrowed into English from Albanian around 1925–30

Other definitions for Lek (3 of 3)

Lek
[ lek ]

noun
  1. a river in the central Netherlands, flowing W to the Meuse River; the N branch of the lower Rhine. 40 miles (64 km) long.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use lek in a sentence

  • He strode away towards a faded cottage on the outskirts of the town, leaving lek to wonder what his mysterious answer could mean.

    ZigZag Journeys in Northern Lands; | Hezekiah Butterworth
  • Away hobbled the dame; and lek, wondering at her answer, entered what seemed to him the principal street.

    ZigZag Journeys in Northern Lands; | Hezekiah Butterworth

British Dictionary definitions for lek (1 of 2)

lek1

/ (lɛk) /


noun
  1. a small area in which birds of certain species, notably the black grouse, gather for sexual display and courtship

  2. the act or practice of so gathering

Origin of lek

1
C19: perhaps from dialect lake (vb) from Old English lácan to frolic, fight, or perhaps from Swedish leka to play

British Dictionary definitions for lek (2 of 2)

lek2

/ (lɛk) /


noun
  1. the standard monetary unit of Albania, divided into 100 qindarka

Origin of lek

2
from Albanian

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012