Lee, Nautical Term
LEE, NAUTICAL TERM. (i) (In 0. Eng. hleo; cf. the pronunciation lew-ward of " leeward "; the word appears in several Teutonic languages; cf. Dutch lij, Dan. lae), properly a shelter or protection, chiefly used as a nautical term for that side of a ship, land, etc., which is farthest from the wind, hence a " lee shore," land under the lee of a ship, i.e. one on which the wind blows directly and which is unsheltered. A ship is said to make " leeway " when she drifts laterally away from her course. (2) A word now always used in the plural " lees," meaning dregs, sediment, particularly of wine. It comes through the O. Fr. lie from a Gaulish Lat. lia, and is probably of Celtic origin.
Note - this article incorporates content from Encyclopaedia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, (1910-1911)
