# lee

> English word · Noun · IPA /liː/ · frequency rank #1,905

## Definitions
1. A protected cove or harbor, out of the wind.
2. The side of the ship away from the wind.
3. A sheltered place, especially a place protected from the wind by some object; the side sheltered from the wind (see also leeside); shelter; protection.
4. Calm, peace.

## Etymology
From Middle English lee, from Old English hlēo, hlēow (“shelter, protection”), from Proto-West Germanic *hlaiw (whence also Proto-Slavic *xlěvъ), from Proto-Germanic *hlaiwaz (compare German Lee (“lee”), Swedish lä, Danish læ, Norwegian le, Old Norse hlé, Dutch lij), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱley- (compare Welsh clyd (“warm, cozy”), Latin calēre (“to warm up”), Lithuanian šiltas (“warm, pleasant”), Sanskrit शरद् (śarad, “autumn”)).

## Easily confused with
- **li** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lee-vs-li)
- **Lt** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lee-vs-lt)
- **lo** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lee-vs-lo)
- **LP** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lee-vs-lp)
- **LN** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lee-vs-ln)
- **Ls** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lee-vs-ls)
- **lg** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lee-vs-lg)
- **lu** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lee-vs-lu)
- **LF** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lee-vs-lf)
- **LV** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lee-vs-lv)
- **LR** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lee-vs-lr)
- **LM** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lee-vs-lm)
- **LJ** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lee-vs-lj)
- **lx** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lee-vs-lx)
- **LZ** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lee-vs-lz)
- **lot** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lee-vs-lot)
- **let** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lee-vs-let)
- **low** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lee-vs-low)
- **lol** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lee-vs-lol)
- **lie** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lee-vs-lie)

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/lee