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definitions

lek

1
[lek]Animal Behavior
|

noun

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.

(of a male) to assemble in a lek and engage in competitive displays.

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Nearby words

  1. leizhou,
  2. leizhou peninsula,
  3. lejeune,
  4. lejeune syndrome,
  5. lejeune, camp,
  6. lekgotla,
  7. lekker,
  8. lekvar,
  9. lekythos,
  10. lekythus

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

lek

2
[lek]

noun

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

Origin of lek

2
Borrowed into English from Albanian around 1925–30

Lek

[lek]

noun

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. 2019

Examples from the Web for lek

British Dictionary definitions for lek

lek

1

noun

a small area in which birds of certain species, notably the black grouse, gather for sexual display and courtship
the act or practice of so gathering

Word Origin for lek

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

noun

the standard monetary unit of Albania, divided into 100 qindarka

Word Origin for lek

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
Word Origin and History for lek

lek

v.

to engage in courtship displays of certain animals, 1871, probably from Swedish leka "to play," cognate of English dialectal verb lake (see lark (v.)).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper