lek

Definition

An aggregation of male animals for the purposes of courtship and display.

Etymology

From Germanic roots meaning "play". In the biology sense, it comes specifically from Swedish lek (“child's play”), by means of Swedish leka (“to play”). The verb is first attested in English in 1871 and the noun at least as early as 1867.

Example Sentences

• "1975, Edward O. Wilson, Sociobiology: The New Synthesis, figure caption, 2000, page 333, Each of the three displaying cocks occupies a small territory at the mating center of the lek."
• "Given that a combination of factors have "released" males from attending nests, why have some species organized their courtship bouts in leks, especially the tightly clumped leks that are typical of manakins and cocks-of-the-rock?"
• "Nevertheless, it does appear that many of the processes of mate choice and sexual selection described for bird and mammal leks also apply to anuran choruses."