LEECHES, in a ship, the borders or edges of a sail, which are either sloping or perpendicular.
The leeches of all sails, the tops and bottoms of which are parallel to the deck, or at right angles to the mast, are denominated from the ship's side, and the sail to which they belong; as the starboard leech of the main-sail, the lee leech of the fore-top-sail, and so on. But the sails which are fixed obliquely on the masts have their leeches named from their situation with respect to the ship's length; as the fore-leech of the mizen, the after-leech of the jib or fore-stay sail, and the like.