# lees

> English word · Noun · IPA /liːz/ · frequency rank #27,538

## Definitions
1. The sediment that settles during fermentation of beverages, consisting of dead yeast and precipitated parts of the fruit.

## Etymology
From Old French lies, from Medieval Latin lias (“lees, dregs”) (descent via winemaking common in monasteries), from Gaulish *ligyā, *legyā (“silt, sediment”) (compare Welsh llai, Old Breton leh (“deposit, silt”)), from Proto-Celtic *legyā (“layer”), from Proto-Indo-European *legʰ- (“to lie (down)”). Doublet of lias; also related to Loire and Leicester.

## Easily confused with
- **Ls** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lees-vs-ls)
- **let** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lees-vs-let)
- **lie** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lees-vs-lie)
- **los** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lees-vs-los)
- **leg** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lees-vs-leg)
- **leo** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lees-vs-leo)
- **les** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lees-vs-les)
- **lex** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lees-vs-lex)
- **Len** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lees-vs-len)
- **Lew** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lees-vs-lew)
- **lei** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lees-vs-lei)
- **lev** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lees-vs-lev)
- **lis** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lees-vs-lis)
- **ley** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lees-vs-ley)
- **LEM** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lees-vs-lem)
- **lye** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lees-vs-lye)
- **Leh** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lees-vs-leh)
- **lel** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lees-vs-lel)
- **left** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lees-vs-left)
- **less** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lees-vs-less)

## Common misspellings (2)
`leess`, `llees`

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