Lesche

Lesche (Gr. λέσχη) is an Ionic Greek word, signifying council or conversation, and a place for council or conversation. There is frequent mention of places of public resort, in the Greek cities, by the name of leschai (λέσχαι, the Greek plural of lesche), some set apart for the purpose, and others so called because they were so used by loungers; to the latter class belong the agora and its porticoes, the gymnasia, and the shops of various tradesmen, especially those of the smiths, which were frequented in winter on account of their warmth, and in which, for the same reason, the poor sought shelter for the night.