Etymology
1. "to guide," O.E.
lædan "cause to go with one, lead," causative of
liðan "to travel," from W.Gmc.
*laithjan (cf. O.S.
lithan, O.N.
liða "to go," O.H.G.
ga-lidan "to travel," Goth.
ga-leiþan "to go"). Meaning "to be in first place" is from c.1380. The noun is first recorded c.1300, "action of leading." Meaning "the front or leading place" is from 1570. Johnson stigmatized it as "a low, despicable word." Sense in card-playing is from 1742; in theater, from 1831; in journalism, from 1927; in jazz bands, from 1934.
Leader "one who leads" is from c.1300; as shortened form of
leading article (1807) "prominent newspaper piece giving editorial opinion" it dates from 1837.
Leadership first attested 1821.
2. 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”).
3. Cognate with Scots leid, lede (“lead”), North Frisian lud, luad (“lead”), West Frisian lead (“lead”), Dutch lood (“lead”), Low German Lod (“solder, plummet”), German Lot (“solder, plummet, sounding line”), Swedish lod (“solder, plummet”), Icelandic lóð (“a plumb, weight”), Irish luaidhe (“lead”) Latin plumbum (“lead”), Finnish luoti (“bullet”). Doublet of loth. More at flow.
4. * (graphite in a pencil): Graphite was once believed to be a form of lead; see black lead and plumbago.
Verbs referencing "lead"
Danish
lede, German, old spelling
leiten, Norwegian, nynorsk
leia, Luxembourgish
leeden, Korean
리드하다.