Letch

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /lɛt͡ʃ/

Definitions

1. An intense yearning or craving for someone, often implying an inappropriate or excessive sexual interest
2. A pronounced and sometimes distasteful inclination towards another person, particularly in a sexual context
3. A powerful longing for another person, frequently with a suggestive or excessive sexual tone

Etymology: "Letch" is a back-formation from "lecher", the noun for a man given to lust. English speakers apparently took "lecher" to be a word built on a "-er" ending, so they stripped that ending off to get a shorter form, much as people might trim "burgle" from "burglar". The result is a noun that drops the agent sense of "one who lusts" and simply names the inclination itself. The source word behind all of this is the Middle English "leche" (also spelled "lech"), which appears in English texts from the medieval period. Its older lineage is tied to the sense of a person who indulges in appetite or pleasure, and the same root gave "lecher" a meaning that was once more general than the sexual sense it carries now.