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lead

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

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Chemical element
Pb
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Next:bismuth(Bi)

Etymology 1

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FromMiddle Englishled,leed,fromOld Englishlēad(“lead”),fromProto-West Germanic*laud(“lead”),possibly borrowed fromProto-Celtic*ɸloudom,fromProto-Indo-European*plewd-(“to flow”).

Cognate withScotsleid,lede(“lead”),North Frisianlud,luad(“lead”),West Frisianlead(“lead”),Dutchlood(“lead”),GermanLot(“solder, plummet, sounding line”),Swedishlod(“solder, plummet”),Icelandiclóð(“a plumb, weight”),Irishluaidhe(“lead”)Latinplumbum(“lead”),Finnishluoti(“bullet”).Doubletofloth.More atflow.

  • (graphite in a pencil):Graphite was once believed to be a form of lead; seeblack leadandplumbago.

Alternative forms

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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lead(countableanduncountable,pluralleads)

Electrolytically refined pure lead
  2. (uncountable)A heavy,pliable,inelasticmetalelement,having a bright, bluish color, but easilytarnished;bothmalleableandductile,though with littletenacity.It is easilyfusible,formsalloyswith other metals, and is an ingredient ofsolderandtype metal.Atomic number82, symbolPb(from Latinplumbum).
    Synonym:plumbum
  3. (countable,nautical)Aplummetor mass of lead attached to a line, used insoundingdepthat sea or(dated)to estimatevelocityinknots.
  4. A thinstripoftype metal,used toseparatelines of type in printing.
  5. (uncountable,typography)Vertical space in advance of a row or between rows of text. Also known asleading.
    This copy has too muchlead;I prefer less space between the lines.
  6. Sheetsorplatesof leadusedas acoveringforroofs.
  7. (countable)Aroofcovered with leadsheetsorterneplates.
  8. (countable)A thincylinderofgraphiteused inpencils.
    Synonym:pencil lead
  9. (slang)bullets;ammunition.
    Theypumpedhim full oflead.
  10. (medicine,in theplural)X-rayprotectiveclothinglined with lead.
    You must remember to wear yourleads.
Derived terms
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terms derived from the noun "lead"


Translations
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Seelead/translations § Etymology 1.

Verb

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lead(third-person singular simple presentleads,present participleleading,simple past and past participleleaded)

  2. (transitive)To cover, fill, or affect with lead.
    continuous firingleadsthe grooves of a rifle.
  3. (transitive,printing,historical)To place leads between the lines of.
    toleada page
    leadedmatter
Translations
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Seelead/translations § Etymology 1.

See also

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terms related to the element lead

Further reading

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  • David Barthelmy (1997–2024) “Lead”,inWebmineral Mineralogy Database.
  • “lead”,inMindat.org‎[1],Hudson Institute of Mineralogy,2000–2024.
  • leadon Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Etymology 2

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EnglishWikipediahas an article on:
Wikipedia

FromMiddle Englishleden,fromOld Englishlǣdan(“to lead”),fromProto-West Germanic*laidijan,fromProto-Germanic*laidijaną(“to cause one to go, lead”),causative ofProto-Germanic*līþaną(“to go”),fromProto-Indo-European*leyt-(“to leave, die”).

Cognate withWest Frisianliede(“to lead”),Dutchleiden(“to lead”),Germanleiten(“to lead”),DanishandNorwegian Bokmållede(“to lead”),Norwegian Nynorskleia(“to lead”),Swedishleda(“to lead”).Related toOld Englishlīþan(“to go, travel”).

Alternative forms

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Pronunciation

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Verb

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lead(third-person singular simple presentleads,present participleleading,simple past and past participleled)

  2. (heading,transitive)Toguideorconduct.
    1. Toguideorconductwith the hand, or by means of some physical contact connection.
      a fatherleadsa child    a jockeyleadsa horse with a halter    a dogleadsa blind man
    2. Toguideor conduct in a certaincourse,or to a certain place or end, by making the way known; to show the way, especially by going with or going in advance of, to lead a pupil; toguidesomebody somewhere or tobringsomebody somewhere by means ofinstructions.
      The guide was able toleadthe tourists through the jungle safely.
    3. (figuratively):Todirect;tocounsel;toinstruct
      A good teacher shouldleadtheir students to the right answer.
    4. To conduct ordirectwithauthority;to have direction or charge of; tocommand,especially amilitaryorbusinessunit.
      toleada political party
      toleadthe search team
      • 1664,Robert South, “(please specify the sermon number)A Sermon Preached Before the University at Christ-Church, Oxon”, inSermons Preached upon Several Occasions.[…],new edition, volume(please specify |volume=I to IV),London:[…]Thomas Tegg,[…],published1843,→OCLC:
        Christ took not upon him flesh and blood that he might conquer and rule nations,leadarmies, or possess places.
        The spelling has been modernized.
    5. To guide or conduct oneself in, through, or along (a certain course); hence, to proceed in the way of; tofollowthepathorcourseof; to pass; to spend. Also, to cause (one) to proceed or follow in (a certain course).
      The evidenceleadsme to believe he is guilty.
  3. (intransitive)To guide or conduct, as by accompanying, going before, showing, influencing,directingwith authority, etc.; to haveprecedenceor preeminence; to be first orchief;— used in most of the senses of the transitive verb.
  4. (heading)To begin, to be ahead.
    1. (transitive)To go or to bein advanceof; toprecede;hence, to be foremost or chief among.
      the big sloopledthe fleet of yachts;  the Guardsledthe attack;  Demosthenesleadsthe orators of all ages
    2. (intransitive)To lead off or out, to go first; tobegin.
      Sheledthe way.
    3. (intransitive)To be more advanced intechnologyorbusinessthan others.
      Itleadsin the information technology sector.
    4. (heading,sports)
      1. (transitive,card games,dominoes)Tobegina game, round, or trick, with
        toleadtrumps
        Heledthe ace of spades.
      2. (intransitive)To beaheadof others, e.g., in arace.
      3. (intransitive)To have the highest interimscorein agame.
      4. (baseball)To step offbaseand move towards the next base.
        The batter alwaysleadsoff base.
      5. (shooting)To aim in front of a movingtarget,in order that theshotmay hit the target as it passes.
      6. (transitive,climbing)Lead climb.
  5. (transitive)To draw or direct byinfluence,whether good or bad; to prevail on; toinduce;to entice; to allure
    toleadsomeone to a righteous cause
  6. (intransitive)To tend or reach in a certaindirection,or to a certain place.
    the pathleadsto the mill;  gamblingleadsto other vices
    • c.1590–1591(date written),William Shakespeare,“The Two Gentlemen of Verona”,inMr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies[…](First Folio), London:[…]Isaac Iaggard,andEd[ward]Blount,published1623,→OCLC,[Act V, scene ii]:
      The mountain-foot thatleadstowards Mantua.
    • 2013August 10, “Can China clean up fast enough?”,inThe Economist,volume408,number8848:
      All this hasledto an explosion of protest across China, including among a middle class that has discovered nimbyism. That worries the government, which fears that environmental activism could become the foundation for more general political opposition. It is therefore dealing with pollution in two ways—suppression and mitigation.
  7. Toproduce.[withto]
    The shockledto a change in his behaviour.
    • 2013August 3, “Yesterday’s fuel”,inThe Economist,volume408,number8847:
      The dawn of the oil age was fairly recent. Although the stuff was used to waterproof boats in the Middle East 6,000 years ago, extracting it in earnest began only in 1859 after an oil strike in Pennsylvania.[…]It was used to make kerosene, the main fuel for artificial lighting after overfishingledto a shortage of whale blubber. Other liquids produced in the refining process, too unstable or smoky for lamplight, were burned or dumped.
  8. Misspelling ofled.
  9. (transitive)To live or experience (a particular way of life).
    Heleadsa quiet, reserved life.
Derived terms
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Translations
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Seelead/translations § Etymology 2.

Noun

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EnglishWikipediahas an article on:
Wikipedia

lead(countableanduncountable,pluralleads)

  1. (countable)The act of leading or conducting; guidance; direction,course
    to take thelead
    to be under theleadof another
    • 1796,Edmund Burke,A Letter from the Right Honourable Edmund Burke to a Noble Lord, on the Attacks Made upon Him and His Pension,[…],10th edition, London:[…]J. Owen,[…],andF[rancis]and C[harles]Rivington,[…],→OCLC:
      At the time I speak of, and having a momentarylead,[…]I am sure I did my country important service.
  2. (countable)Precedence; advance position; also, the measure of precedence; the state of being ahead in a race; the highest score in an incomplete game.
    the white horse had thelead.
    to be in thelead
    She lost thelead.
    Smith managed to extend herleadover the second place to half a second.
  3. (UK,countable)An insulated metallic wire for electrical devices and equipment.
  4. (baseball)The situation where a runner steps away from a base while waiting for the pitch to be thrown.
    The runner took hisleadfrom first.
  5. (uncountable,card games,dominoes)The act or right of playing first in a game or round; the card suit, or piece, so played
    your partner has thelead
  7. (acting,theater)The main role in a play or film; the lead role.
    • 1932,Delos W. Lovelace,King Kong,published1965,page43:
      "You make moving pictures. In jungles and places." "That's me. And I've picked you for theleadin my next picture. "
  8. (acting)The actor who plays the main role; lead actor.
  9. (business)The person in charge of aprojector a work shift etc.
    John is the developmentleadon this software product.
  10. (countable)Achannelofopenwaterin anicefield.
  11. (countable,mining)Alode.
  12. (nautical)The course of a rope from end to end.
  14. A rope, leather strap, or similar device with which to lead an animal; aleash
  15. In a steam engine, the width of port opening which is uncovered by the valve, for the admission or release of steam, at the instant when the piston is at end of its stroke.
    • Usage note:When used alone it meansoutside lead,or lead for the admission of steam.Inside leadrefers to the release or exhaust.
  16. (civil engineering)The distance of haul, as from a cutting to an embankment.
  17. (horology)The action of a tooth, such as a tooth of a wheel, in impelling another tooth or a pallet.
  18. Hypothesis that has not been pursued
    The investigation stalled when allleadsturned out to be dead ends.
  19. Information obtained by a detective or police officer that allows him or her to discover further details about a crime or incident.
    The police have a couple ofleadsthey will follow to solve the case.
  20. (marketing)Potential opportunity for a sale or transaction, a potential customer.
    Joe is a great addition to our sales team, he has numerousleadsin the paper industry.
  21. Information obtained by a news reporter about an issue or subject that allows him or her to discover more details.
  22. (curling)The player who throws the first two rocks for a team.
  24. (US,journalism)Theintroductoryparagraphor paragraphs of anewspaper,or a news or other type of article. (Sometimes spelled asledefor this usage to avoid ambiguity.)
  25. An important news story that appears on the front page of a newspaper or at the beginning of a news broadcast
  26. (engineering)The axial distance a screw thread travels in one revolution. It is equal to thepitchtimes the number ofstarts.
  27. (music)In abarbershop quartet,the person who sings themelody,usually the secondtenor
  28. (music)The announcement by one voice part of a theme to be repeated by the other parts.
  29. (music)A mark or a short passage in one voice part, as of a canon, serving as a cue for the entrance of others.
  30. (engineering)Theexcessabove aright anglein theanglebetween twoconsecutivecranks,as of acompoundengine,on the sameshaft.
  31. (electrical)The angle between the line joining thebrushesof a continuous-currentdynamoand thediametersymmetricalbetween thepoles.
  32. (electrical)Theadvanceof the currentphasein an alternatingcircuitbeyond that of theelectromotive forceproducing it.
Derived terms
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terms derived from the nounlead
Translations
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Seelead/translations § Etymology 2.

Adjective

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lead(notcomparable)

  1. (not comparable)Foremost.
    The contestants are all tied; no one has theleadposition.
    • 2006,Ronald Mak,The Martian Principles for Successful Enterprise Systems:
      For the first time ever, the senior architect andleaddeveloper for a key enterprise system on NASA's ongoing Mars Exploration Rover mission shares the secrets to one of the most difficult technology tasks[…]
    Synonyms:first,front,head,leader,leading
  2. Main,principal,primary,first,chief,foremost.
    theleadguitarist in band
    theleaddeveloper on a software project
    • 2017August 25, "Arrest threat as Yingluck Shinawatra misses verdict",in aljazeera.com,Al Jazeera:
      Yingluck Shinawatra, Thailand's ex-prime minister, has missed a verdict in a negligence trial that could have seen her jailed, prompting the Supreme Court to say it will issue an arrest warrant fearing she is a flight risk, according to theleadjudge in the case.
Derived terms
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Etymology 3

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Verb

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lead

  1. Misspelling ofled.

References

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Anagrams

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Hungarian

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Etymology

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le-+‎ad

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key):[ˈlɛɒd]
  • Hyphenation:le‧ad
  • Rhymes:-ɒd

Verb

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lead

  1. (transitive)topass down,hand down,turnin,dropoff
  2. (transitive)to lose weight, usually as a result of some kind of training or exercise

Conjugation

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conjugation oflead
Click for archaic forms 1st personsg 2nd personsg
informal 		3rd personsg,
2nd p.sgformal 		1st personpl 2nd personpl
informal 		3rd personpl,
2nd p.plformal


Indica­tive
mood 		Pre­sent Indef. leadok leadsz lead leadunk leadtok leadnak
Def. leadom leadod leadja leadjuk leadjátok leadják
2nd-p. o. leadlak ―
Past Indef. leadtam leadtál leadott leadtunk leadtatok leadtak
Def. leadtam leadtad leadta leadtuk leadtátok leadták
2nd-p. o. leadtalak ―
Future Future is expressed with a present-tense verb with a completion-marking prefix and/or a time adverb,or—more explicitly—with the infinitive plus the conjugated auxiliary verbfog,e.g.le fog adni.
Archaic
Preterit 		Indef. leadék leadál leada leadánk leadátok leadának
Def. leadám leadád leadá leadánk leadátok leadák
2nd-p. o. leadálak ―
Archaic Past Two additional past tenses: the present and the (current) past forms followed byvala (volt),e.g.lead vala,leadottvala/volt.
Archaic
Future 		Indef. leadandok leadandasz leadand leadandunk leadandotok leadandanak
Def. leadandom leadandod leadandja leadandjuk leadandjátok leadandják
2nd-p. o. leadandalak ―
Condi­tional
mood 		Pre­sent Indef. leadnék leadnál leadna leadnánk leadnátok leadnának
Def. leadnám leadnád leadná leadnánk
(orleadnók) 		leadnátok leadnák
2nd-p. o. leadnálak ―
Past Indicative past forms followed byvolna,e.g.leadottvolna
Sub­junc­tive
mood 		Pre­sent Indef. leadjak leadjor
leadjál 		leadjon leadjunk leadjatok leadjanak
Def. leadjam leaddor
leadjad 		leadja leadjuk leadjátok leadják
2nd-p. o. leadjalak ―
(Archaic) Past Indicative past forms followed bylégyen,e.g.leadottlégyen
Infinitive leadni leadnom leadnod leadnia leadnunk leadnotok leadniuk
Other
forms 		Verbal noun Present part. Past part. Future part. Adverbial participle Causative
leadás leadó leadott leadandó leadva(leadván) leadat
The archaic passive conjugation had the same-(t)at/-(t)etsuffix as the causative, followed by-ikin the 3rd-person singular
(and the concomitant changes in conditional and subjunctive mostly in the 1st- and 3rd-person singular like with other traditional-ikverbs).
The prefix can split from the verb stem, e.g.nem ad leorle is ad.
potential conjugation oflead
Click for archaic forms 1st personsg 2nd personsg
informal 		3rd personsg,
2nd p.sgformal 		1st personpl 2nd personpl
informal 		3rd personpl,
2nd p.plformal
Indica­tive
mood 		Pre­sent Indef. leadhatok leadhatsz leadhat leadhatunk leadhattok leadhatnak
Def. leadhatom leadhatod leadhatja leadhatjuk leadhatjátok leadhatják
2nd-p. o. leadhatlak ―
Past Indef. leadhattam leadhattál leadhatott leadhattunk leadhattatok leadhattak
Def. leadhattam leadhattad leadhatta leadhattuk leadhattátok leadhatták
2nd-p. o. leadhattalak ―
Archaic
Preterit 		Indef. leadhaték leadhatál leadhata leadhatánk leadhatátok leadhatának
Def. leadhatám leadhatád leadhatá leadhatánk leadhatátok leadhaták
2nd-p. o. leadhatálak ―
Archaic Past Two additional past tenses: the present and the (current) past forms followed byvala,e.g.leadhatvala,leadhatottvala/volt.
Archaic
Future 		Indef. leadhatandok
orleadandhatok 		leadhatandasz
orleadandhatsz 		leadhatand
orleadandhat 		leadhatandunk
orleadandhatunk 		leadhatandotok
orleadandhattok 		leadhatandanak
orleadandhatnak
Def. leadhatandom
orleadandhatom 		leadhatandod
orleadandhatod 		leadhatandja
orleadandhatja 		leadhatandjuk
orleadandhatjuk 		leadhatandjátok
orleadandhatjátok 		leadhatandják
orleadandhatják
2nd-p. o. leadhatandalak
orleadandhatlak 		―
Condi­tional
mood 		Pre­sent Indef. leadhatnék leadhatnál leadhatna leadhatnánk leadhatnátok leadhatnának
Def. leadhatnám leadhatnád leadhatná leadhatnánk
(orleadhatnók) 		leadhatnátok leadhatnák
2nd-p. o. leadhatnálak ―
Past Indicative past forms followed byvolna,e.g.leadhatottvolna
Sub­junc­tive
mood 		Pre­sent Indef. leadhassak leadhassor
leadhassál 		leadhasson leadhassunk leadhassatok leadhassanak
Def. leadhassam leadhasdor
leadhassad 		leadhassa leadhassuk leadhassátok leadhassák
2nd-p. o. leadhassalak ―
(Archaic) Past Indicative past forms followed bylégyen,e.g.leadhatottlégyen
Inf. (leadhatni) (leadhatnom) (leadhatnod) (leadhatnia) (leadhatnunk) (leadhatnotok) (leadhatniuk)
Positive adjective leadható Neg. adj. leadhatatlan Adv. part. (leadhatva/leadhatván)
The prefix can split from the verb stem, e.g.nem adhat leorle is adhat.

Derived terms

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Expressions

Further reading

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  • leadinBárczi, GézaandLászló Országh.A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára( “The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language”, abbr.:ÉrtSz.). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992:→ISBN

Middle English

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Noun

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lead

  1. Alternative form ofled(“lead”)

Old English

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Etymology

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FromProto-West Germanic*laud.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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lēadn

  1. lead

Declension

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Declension oflēad(strong a-stem)
Case Singular Plural
nominative lēad —
accusative lēad —
genitive lēades —
dative lēade —

Derived terms

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Descendants

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Polish

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PolishWikipediahas an article on:
Wikipediapl

Etymology

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Unadapted borrowingfromEnglishlead.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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leadminan

  1. (newspapers,journalism)leadparagraph,teaser,lead-in(start of a newspaper column, telling who, what, when, where, why and how)

Declension

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Declension oflead
singular plural
nominative lead leady
genitive leadu leadów
dative leadowi leadom
accusative lead leady
instrumental leadem leadami
locative leadzie leadach
vocative leadzie leady

Further reading

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  • leadin Polish dictionaries at PWN
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