LEA, LEACH, verb transitive [See leak. Perhaps Latin lix may be from the same root.] To wash, as ashes, by percolation, or causing water to pass through them, and thus to separate from them the alkali. The water thus charged with alkali, is called lye. LEACH, noun A quantity of wood ashes, through which water passes, and thus imbibes the alkali.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI