From Old Englishlēad, from West Germanic *loudhom, from a Proto-Indo-European*plou(d)-(“‘to flow’”). Cognate with Dutch lood, German Lot(“‘plummet, sounding lead’”) Swedish lod and Danish lod.
(uncountable, chemistry) A heavy, pliable, inelastic metal element, having a bright, bluish color, but easily tarnished; both malleable and ductile, though with little tenacity. It is easily fusible, forms alloys with other metals, and is an ingredient of solder and type metal. Atomic number 82, Atomic weight 206.4, Specific Gravity 11.37, Symbol Pb (from Latin plumbum).
(countable) A plummet or mass of lead, used in sounding at sea.
A thin strip of type metal, used to separate lines of type in printing.
(uncountable, typography) Vertical space in advance of a row or between rows of text. Also known as leading.
This copy has too much lead; I prefer less space between the lines.
Sheets or plates of lead used as a covering for roofs.
