Lechs

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. To desire or crave someone in a sexual manner; to behave in an excessive or offensive way driven by lust; a person who persistently exhibits such lascivious behavior
2. To show inappropriate or unrestrained sexual desire toward others; to act with lecherous intent or interest; an individual characterized by this form of immoral or excessive appetite
3. To indulge in lustful thoughts or actions; to express or pursue sensual cravings openly or offensively; a term used also for a person who habitually displays such voracious sexual interest

Etymology: "Lechs" is the plural of "lech," a noun meaning a lustful desire for someone. The singular "lech" is a back-formation from "lecher," meaning that English speakers took the more familiar word "lecher" and, by stripping off what they assumed was an agent suffix, created a new base word. "Lecher" itself came into English from Old French "lechier," meaning to live in debauchery or to lick, which is also the ancestor of the modern verb "lecher." The other strand of the story runs through Welsh. The source of "lech" is traced to the Welsh "llech," meaning slate or slab, a surprisingly unrelated sense. The connection between a flat stone and lust is not one that the etymology can explain with certainty, so the link should be treated as unresolved rather than a settled fact.

Synonyms: lechers, perverts, libertines, wolfish men, lascivious men

Antonyms: chaste, pure, modest, virtuous, innocent