Etymograph

English

lead

Lead comes from Old English lǣdan ‘to lead’, from Proto-Germanic *laidijaną ‘to cause to go’, causative of *līþaną ‘to go’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*leyt-1‘to leave, die’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*līþaną1‘to go’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*laidijaną1‘to cause one to go, lead’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*laidijan1reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150lǣdan1‘to lead’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500leden1
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1625lead1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English lead
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1625, Francis Bacon, Of Building: “I would have the tower two stories, and goodly…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*leyt-Wiktionary, English lead‘to leave, die’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*līþanąWiktionary, English lead‘to go’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*laidijanąWiktionary, English lead‘to cause one to go, lead’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*laidijanWiktionary, English leadreconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150lǣdanWiktionary, English lead‘to lead’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ledenWiktionary, English lead
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1625leadWiktionary, English lead. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1625, Francis Bacon, Of Building: “I would have the tower two stories, and goodly…”

The story

From Middle English led, leed, from Old English lēad (‘lead’), from Proto-West Germanic *laud (‘lead’), possibly borrowed from Proto-Celtic *ɸloudom, from Proto-Indo-European *plewd- (‘to flow’).

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with lead, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

through Proto-Indo-European *plewd- ‘to flow’

  • fleet ← flete ← flēot ← flēotan ← *fleutaną
  • float ← floten ← flotian ← *flotōn ← *flutōną
  • flutter ← floteren ← floterian ← *flutrōną ← *flutōną
  • flit ← flitten ← flytja ← *flutjaną

through Proto-Celtic *ɸloudom ‘lead (metal)’

  • plunge ← plungen ← plongier ← *plumbicō ← plumbum
  • plumber ← plummier ← plumbārius ← plumbum ← μόλυβδος
  • plumb ← plumbe ← *plombe ← plumbum ← μόλυβδος
  • plummet ← plommet ← plommet ← plumbum ← μόλυβδος
  • aplomb ← plomb ← plom ← plom ← plumbum

through Proto-West Germanic *laud

  • loth ← lood ← lôot ← *lōt

15 more relatives in the full family tree

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Another origin of lead

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*leyt-‘to leave, die’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*līþaną‘to go’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*laidijaną‘to cause one to go, lead’reconstructedcausative of *līþaną
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*laidijan‘to cause to go, lead’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150lǣdan‘to lead’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500leden‘to lead’
  7. Englishtodaylead

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Today it means

noun 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.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “lead”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *leyt- / lead