lede

Meaning

Noun

The introductory paragraph or paragraphs of a newspaper, or a news or other type of article; the lead or lead-in.

Verb

Obsolete spelling of lead (“to guide”).

Synonyms

lead

lead-in

introduction

overture

preamble

preface

prelude

prolegomenon

introductory paragraph

exordium

lead paragraph

intro

Pronounced as (IPA)

/liːd/

Etymology

A deliberate misspelling of lead, originally used in instructions given to printers to indicate which paragraphs constitute the lede, intended to avoid confusion with the word lead which may actually appear in the text of an article. Compare dek (“subhead”) (modified from deck) and hed (“headline”) (from head).