leakyadj.
/ˈliːki/, U.S. /ˈliki/ 1.
a. Having a leak or leaks; full of leaks; giving passage to water or other fluid through a hole or fissure.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > liquid > liquid which has been emitted > action or process of leaking > [adjective]
leakingc1420
leakya1616
the world > space > relative position > condition of being open or not closed > an opening or aperture > [adjective] > having (a) hole(s) > leaky
leakc897
leakingc1420
unstanched1607
leakya1616
untight1622
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > going or coming out > letting or sending out > [adjective] > let out > leaking
leakingc1420
running?c1475
leakya1616
a1616 W. Shakespeare Tempest (1623) i. i. 45.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Antony & Cleopatra (1623) iii. xiii. 63 Sir, sir, thou art so leakie That we must leaue thee to thy sinking. View more context for this quotation
1677 W. Hubbard Narr. Troubles with Indians New-Eng. ii. 67 He would not venture himself in our Leakie Canoo.
1732 G. Berkeley Alciphron I. ii. xiii. 101 A leaky Vessel, always filling and never full.
1791 W. Jessop Rep. River Witham 15 Lining the Canal through the leaky Soil..450l.
1835 J. Ross Narr. Second Voy. North-west Passage ii. 11 The ship was so leaky as to require the constant use of two pumps.
1868 W. Morris Earthly Paradise 98 We lay Leaky, dismasted, a most helpless prey To winds and waves.
1872 J. Yeats Techn. Hist. Commerce 141 Leaky casks.
1881 Daily News 10 Mar. 6/1 A leaky gas pipe.
b. Incontinent of urine; passing urine frequently or in large quantities.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > disorders of internal organs > urinary disorders > [adjective] > incontinence of urine
leaky1728
enuretic1943
1728 J. Gay Beggar's Opera iii. ii. 41 The Dog is leaky in his Liquor.
1897 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. III. 242 The patient..had never had an illness in his life, except that he had always been a ‘leaky subject’.
1897 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. III. 242 Such patients seem to drift imperceptibly into the ‘leaky’ state.
c. figurative. Of persons, their tongues: Not reticent, blabbing. Of memory: Not retentive.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > memory > faulty recollection > [adjective] > of memory: not retentive
short1340
slipper?a1475
unclasping1640
slippery1653
leaky1692
irretentive1749
unretentive1782
society > communication > manifestation > disclosure or revelation > [adjective] > secrets
labbing1402
unsecreta1586
blabbish1604
blabbinga1616
leaky1692
loose-tongued1883
blab-mouthed1913
tell-all1930
1692 R. L'Estrange Fables ccccxxvii. 402 Women are generally so leaky, that..I have hardly met with one of the Sex that could not hold her Breath longer than she should keep a secret.
1703 J. Quick Dec. Wife's Sister 18 Our Memories are exceeding feeble, leaky and forgetful.
1740 W. Somervile Hobbinol i. 242 But be thou, my Muse! No leaky Blab.
1805 G. Rose Diaries (1860) I. 244 It is true he is leaky, but I believe would not willingly tell anything.
1845 H. Rogers Ess. I. iii. 93 [It] must depend..on the doubtful authority, and leaky memory of those who report it.
d. Retaining electric charge only with gradual loss; connected to or having a high resistance that acts as a ‘leak’; leaky-grid detection, detection in which the signal is applied to the grid of a valve through a series capacitor and a resistor (the latter being connected as a grid leak or in parallel with the capacitor).
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > resistance > [adjective]
resistive1903
leaky1904
photoresistive1933
piezoresistive1935
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > electric charge, electricity > [adjective] > suffering gradual loss
leaky1904
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electronics > electronic phenomena > processes > [noun] > recovery of signal from carrier
detection1906
demodulation1920
leaky-grid detection1934
slope detection1949
1904 A. Russell Treat. Theory Alternating Currents I. xvii. 384 (heading) Inductive coil and leaky condenser.
1922 J. Scott-Taggart Wireless Vacuum Tubes (ed. 4) iv. 89 Leaky grid condenser rectification.
1922 J. Scott-Taggart Wireless Vacuum Tubes (ed. 4) vii. 132 If we employ a leaky grid condenser we can obtain a suitable negative grid potential without..a battery.
1922 J. Scott-Taggart Wireless Vacuum Tubes (ed. 4) viii. 167 A leaky grid condenser may be connected in the grid circuit.
1934 Jrnl. Inst. Electr. Engineers 75 298/2 Leaky-grid detection is used in this receiver.
1962 D. F. Shaw Introd. Electronics ii. 35 A leaky capacitor..in which the leakage resistance is represented by a shunt.
1968 Radio Communication Handbk. (ed. 4) ii. 17/1 Any d.c. voltage developed across the grid leak by the rectification of a modulated or an unmodulated signal will thus constitute a negative bias for the grid and the anode current in the triode will fall... An excessively strong signal will tend to bias the valve beyond the cut-off point, and therefore a leaky-grid detector ceases to function satisfactorily when the input voltage is too great.
1969 R. G. Middleton Transistor Television Servicing Guide ix. 105/1 A leaky transistor, such as 22..increases in temperature.
e. Of persons: lachrymose. Also as n.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > suffering > sorrow or grief > lamentation or expression of grief > weeping > [adjective]
weepingc900
wopi?c1225
greetingfula1340
greetyc1350
weeplyc1374
weepfula1382
weepinglyc1440
lachrymablec1450
moistc1450
lachrymous1490
rainy1563
tearfula1586
greeting1588
collachrymate1593
crying1594
onion-eyeda1616
maudlinc1616
rheumatica1627
fluxed1628
lachrymalc1630
crystal-droppinga1650
showery1654
lugent1656
Niobean1665
lachrymary1693
lachrymose1727
moist-eyed1797
larmoyant1824
pluviose1824
ploratory1831
lachrymating1837
screwmatic1847
pipy1861
weepy1863
blarting1898
leaky1905
the mind > emotion > suffering > sorrow or grief > lamentation or expression of grief > weeping > [noun] > weeper > childishly
cry-baby1852
leaky1959
1905 H. A. Vachell Hill vii. 151 ‘I ain't the leaky sort,’ she added fiercely, still gasping.
1959 I. Opie & P. Opie Lore & Lang. Schoolchildren x. 187 Croydon boys have twenty names for a cry-baby:..leaky, [etc.].
2. Genetics. Of a mutant: producing the protein specified by the mutated gene in a form with reduced activity compared with that produced by the wild type. Of a protein so produced: having reduced activity. Cf. hypomorphic adj. at hypo- prefix 2.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > biology > biological processes > genetic activity > [adjective] > changes or actions of genes or chromosomes > mutation > specific quality of
leaky1955
missense1961
1955 Proc. National Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 41 347 Under given conditions, however, the coefficient can be used as a comparative index of degree of phenotypic effect, a ‘leaky’ mutant having a high coefficient.
1959 Proc. National Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 45 204 This strain is a leaky derivative of strain 21863 [of Neurospora crassa].
1961 Nature 30 Dec. 1227/2 Mutants produced by acridines are seldom ‘leaky’; they are almost always completely lacking in the function of the gene.
1966 E. A. Carlson Gene xiii. 112 The microbial geneticist today uses the term ‘leaky mutant’ for hypomorph.
1968 R. C. King Dict. Genetics 141 Leaky protein, a mutant protein that has a subnormal degree of biological activity.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1902; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
adj.a1616