sleech

noun

1. Thick, soft mud that was left behind by flowing water, usually alongside riverbeds or shorelines.

   countable, uncountable

2. A soft, unstable mixture of mud and clay beneath Belfast, which is known for being difficult to build on.

   countable, uncountable

   The physical nature and engineering properties of the sleech have made it desirable to investigate each site before piling.

Where it comes from

From Middle English sliche, a variant of slicche, from Old English *sliċ (“mud, sludge”), from Proto-West Germanic *sliki, from Proto-Germanic *slikiz (“mud, slush”), from Proto-Indo-European *sleyg- (“to slide, be slippery”). Doublet of slitch and sludge.

Adapted from the Wiktionary entry sleech (CC BY-SA 4.0).

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