# Lee
## English
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /liː/
* Rhymes: -iː
* Homophones: lea, leigh, Leigh, li

### Etymology 1

From Old English lēa, the dative case of lēah (“meadow”), originally to denote someone who lived near a meadow.

#### Alternative forms

* Lea
* Leigh

#### Proper noun

Lee (countable and uncountable, plural Lees)
* An English topographic surname from Middle English for someone who lived near a meadow (the Anglo-Saxon for meadow being ley or leag).
* A unisex given name.
** A male given name derived from the surname, masculine of Leigh
** A female given name popular in conjoined names such as Lee Ann or Mary Lee.
*** 2016, Ruth Ware, In a Dark, Dark Wood, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN, page 21:“Nora?” She frowned, puzzled. “My name's Leonora,” I said. “At school I was Lee, but now I prefer Nora. I did mention it in the e-mail.” I'd always hated being Lee. It was a boy's name, a name that lent itself to teasing and rhyme.
* A placename, for example:
** A number of places in England:
*** A hamlet in Berrynarbor parish, North Devon district, Devon (OS grid ref SS5546).
*** A small village in Ilfracombe parish, North Devon district, Devon (OS grid ref SS4846).
*** A suburb in the borough of Lewisham, Greater London (OS grid ref TQ3974).
*** A hamlet in Romsey parish, Test Valley district, Hampshire, previously in Romsey Extra parish (OS grid ref SU3617).
*** A village in Buckinghamshire, commonly known as The Lee.
*** Alternative spelling of Lea, the River Lea in eastern England.
** A number of places in the United States:
*** A former settlement in Inyo County, California.
*** A town in Madison County, Florida.
*** A village in DeKalb County and Lee County, Illinois.
*** An unincorporated community in Monon Township, White County, Indiana.
*** A town in Penobscot County, Maine.
*** A town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts.
*** An unincorporated community in Elko County, Nevada.
*** A town in Strafford County, New Hampshire.
*** A town and village in Oneida County, New York.
*** A number of townships in the United States, listed under Lee Township.

##### Derived terms

* Fort Lee
* Lee County
* Lee-Enfield
* Lee-Kesler method
* Lees
* Leeson
* Leeton
* Robert Lee (Texas city)
* Rosie Lee

### Etymology 2

From Irish Laoi, perhaps from an ancient personal name.

#### Proper noun

Lee
* A river in County Cork, Ireland.

### Etymology 3

From Chinese:
* Mandarin: 李 (Lǐ), and other less common surnames such as 黎 (Lí).
* Cantonese: 李 (lei5), and other less common surnames such as 利 (lei6).
* Hokkien: 李 (Lí), Teochew: 李 (li2).
* Hakka: 李 (Lí).

#### Alternative forms

* Li, Le, Ly

#### Proper noun

Lee (plural Lees)
* A surname from Chinese.
** A surname from Cantonese.
** A surname from Hokkien.
** A surname from Teochew.
** A surname from Mandarin.
** A surname from Hakka.

##### Derived terms

* Lee Garden Hill

### Etymology 4

Transcription of Korean 이(李) (I) and 리(李) (Ri).

#### Alternative forms

* Rhee, Ree

#### Proper noun

Lee (plural Lees)
* A surname from Korean; alternative form of Rhee.

### Etymology 5

A diminutive.

#### Proper noun

Lee (plural Lees)
* A male given name.
** A nickname for various given names with the first syllable as Lee; Clipping of Leo, Leroy.

### Statistics

* According to the 2010 United States Census, Lee is the 21st most common surname in the United States, belonging to 702,625 individuals. Lee is most common among Asian/Pacific Islander (42.4%), White (36.0%) and Black/African American (16.3%) individuals.

### See also

* Lea
* Leah
* Leh
* Lei
* Leigh
* Ley
* Li
* Ly

### References

* ↑ OS: Lee, Ilfracombe

### Anagrams

* ELE, eel

## German
### Etymology

Borrowed from Middle Low German lē, from Old Saxon hlēo. Cognate with Dutch lij, English lee.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /leː/
* Audio:(file)

### Noun

Lee f (genitive Lee, no plural)
* leeward side of a ship (the side away from the wind direction)
    Antonym: Luv
    tosende See an Luv und Lee ― raging sea on the windward and leeward sides

#### Related terms

* leewärts
* Leeseite

#### See also

* Bug
* Heck

### Further reading

* “Lee” in Duden online
* “Lee” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache

## Hungarian
### Pronunciation

* IPA: [ˈliː]
* Hyphenation: Lee

### Proper noun

Lee
* Lee

#### Declension
## Luxembourgish
### Etymology

From Middle High German leie. Cognate with German Lei, Dutch lei.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /leː/
* Rhymes: -eː

### Noun

Lee f (plural Leeën)
* (countable) slate, plate of slate (for roofing or writing)
* (uncountable, dated) slate as a material
    Synonym: Schifer

#### Derived terms

* Leeëndecker

## Tagalog
### Alternative forms

* Dy, Dee, Li

### Etymology

* (Chinese surname): From Hokkien 李 (Lí) & Cantonese 李 (Lei$^5$), via English Lee.
* (Korean surname): From Korean 리(李) (Ri), via English Lee.

### Pronunciation

* (Standard Tagalog) IPA: /ˈli/ [ˈli]
* Rhymes: -i
* Syllabification: Lee

### Proper noun

Lee (Baybayin spelling ᜎᜒ)
* a Chinese Filipino surname from Hokkien
* a Chinese Filipino surname from Cantonese
* a surname from Korean, most notably borne by:
    Grace Lee, film distributor, businesswoman, former tv host and former radio DJ.

#### Statistics

* According to data collected by Forebears in 2014, Lee is the 309th most common surname in the Philippines, occurring in 25,098 individuals.

### See also

* See
* Tee
* Wee
* Yee

### Anagrams

* ele