lek

[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.

Origin of lek

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for lekking

lek

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

lek

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 lekking

lek

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