An Eachy is a name given to a species of lake monster

Lake monster

A lake monster or loch monster is a purported form of fresh-water-dwelling megafauna appearing in mythology, rumor, or local folklore, but whose existence lacks scientific support. A well known example is the Loch Ness Monster. Lake monsters' depictions are often similar to some sea monsters...

 from a variety of locations in Northern England

Northern England

Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North or the North Country, is a cultural region of England. It is not an official government region, but rather an informal amalgamation of counties. The southern extent of the region is roughly the River Trent, while the North is bordered...

 and Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

. An Eachy is typically a large humanoid being of gruesome and slimy appearance seen to occasionally emerge from the lake. An Eachy was reported from Windermere

Windermere (lake)

Windermere is the largest natural lake in England. It is a ribbon lake formed in a glacial trough after the retreat of ice at the start of the current interglacial. It has been one of the country’s most popular places for holidays and summer homes since the arrival of the Kendal and Windermere...

 in 1873 and Bassenthwaite Lake

Bassenthwaite Lake

Bassenthwaite Lake is one of the largest water bodies in the English Lake District. It is long and narrow, approximately long and wide, but is also extremely shallow, with a maximum depth of about ....

 as late as 1973 when it was supposedly photographed twice. A scientific expedition was launched to find the mystery creature when, in September 1961, three atomic scientists conducted an underwater exploration of the lake. However, they did not find the 13 feet (4 m), triple-humped, python-headed creature that had recently been sighted.

Presumably the name comes from the Middle English

Middle English

Middle English is the stage in the history of the English language during the High and Late Middle Ages, or roughly during the four centuries between the late 11th and the late 15th century....

 "iker" or "eker" (from the older "niker", from the Old English

Old English language

Old English or Anglo-Saxon is an early form of the English language that was spoken and written by the Anglo-Saxons and their descendants in parts of what are now England and southeastern Scotland between at least the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century...

 "nicor" meaning "water-sprite" or "hippotamus") which was a type of sea monster. Although the name looks similar to the Scottish Gaelic Each uisge

Each uisge

The each uisge is a mythological Scottish water spirit, called the Aughisky in Ireland. It is similar to the kelpie, but far more dangerous.The Each Uisge, a supernatural water horse found in the Highlands of Scotland, is supposedly the most dangerous water-dwelling creature in the British Isles...

, the word is morphologically and phonetically dissimilar. The area of the Each uisge is traditionally quite distant from the traditional area of the Eachy and the Each uisage was not anthropomorphic but instead a water horse.

Sources

• Gould, M.J. (1980) 'Folklore of Northern Britain.' Nix. Kendal.
• Lewis R.E. (1954) Middle English Dictionary. University of Michigan Press.