lee

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: B1 — Intermediate

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun United States filmmaker whose works explore the richness of black culture in America (born in 1957)
  2. noun United States striptease artist who became famous on Broadway in the 1930s (1914-1970)
  3. noun United States actor who was an expert in kung fu and starred in martial arts films (1941-1973)

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”)).

In classic literature

Synonyms

Spike Lee, Shelton Jackson Lee

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