Wiktionary

leaden

English

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Etymology

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From Middle English leden, leaden, from Old English lēaden (“leaden, of lead”), equivalent to lead +‎ -en. Cognate with West Frisian leaden (“leaden”), Dutch loden (“leaden”).

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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leaden (comparative more leaden, superlative most leaden)

  1. (dated) Made of lead.
  2. Pertaining to or resembling lead; grey, heavy, sluggish.
    • 1819, John Keats, “Ode to a Nightingale”, in Lamia, Isabella, the Eve of St. Agnes, and Other Poems, London: […] [Thomas Davison] for Taylor and Hessey, […], published 1820, →OCLC, stanza 3, page 109:
      Where but to think is to be full of sorrow / And leaden-eyed despairs, / Where Beauty cannot keep her lustrous eyes, / Or new Love pine at them beyond to-morrow.
    • 1818-1819, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Julian and Maddalo
      [...] if man be
      The passive thing you say, I should not see
      Much harm in the religions and old saws
      (Tho' I may never own such leaden laws)
      Which break a teachless nature to the yoke.
  3. Dull; darkened with overcast.
    Synonyms: faint, wan; see also Thesaurus:dim
    the sky was leaden and thick
    • 1999: Stardust, Neil Gaiman, page 31 (2001 Perennial paperback edition)
      "It was at the end of February..., when the world was cold..., when icy rains fell from the leaden skies in continual drizzling showers."

Derived terms

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Translations

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Verb

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leaden (third-person singular simple present leadens, present participle leadening, simple past and past participle leadened)

  1. (transitive, intransitive) To make or become dull or overcast.

Anagrams

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Middle English

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Etymology 1

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Verb

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leaden

  1. Alternative form of leden (“to lead”)

Etymology 2

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Adjective

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leaden

  1. Alternative form of leden (“leaden”)

Old English

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Pronunciation

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Adjective

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lēaden

  1. Alternative form of līeden

Declension

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Declension of lēaden — Strong
Singular Masculine Feminine Neuter
Nominative lēaden lēadenu, lēadnu, lēadeno, lēadno lēaden
Accusative lēadenne lēadene, lēadne lēaden
Genitive lēadenes, lēadnes lēadenre lēadenes, lēadnes
Dative lēadenum, lēadnum lēadenre lēadenum, lēadnum
Instrumental lēadene, lēadne lēadenre lēadene, lēadne
Plural Masculine Feminine Neuter
Nominative lēadene, lēadne lēadena, lēadna, lēadene, lēadne lēadenu, lēadnu, lēadeno, lēadno
Accusative lēadene, lēadne lēadena, lēadna, lēadene, lēadne lēadenu, lēadnu, lēadeno, lēadno
Genitive lēadenra lēadenra lēadenra
Dative lēadenum, lēadnum lēadenum, lēadnum lēadenum, lēadnum
Instrumental lēadenum, lēadnum lēadenum, lēadnum lēadenum, lēadnum
Declension of lēaden — Weak
Singular Masculine Feminine Neuter
Nominative lēadena, lēadna lēadene, lēadne lēadene, lēadne
Accusative lēadenan, lēadnan lēadenan, lēadnan lēadene, lēadne
Genitive lēadenan, lēadnan lēadenan, lēadnan lēadenan, lēadnan
Dative lēadenan, lēadnan lēadenan, lēadnan lēadenan, lēadnan
Instrumental lēadenan, lēadnan lēadenan, lēadnan lēadenan, lēadnan
Plural Masculine Feminine Neuter
Nominative lēadenan, lēadnan lēadenan, lēadnan lēadenan, lēadnan
Accusative lēadenan, lēadnan lēadenan, lēadnan lēadenan, lēadnan
Genitive lēadenra, lēadenena, lēadnena lēadenra, lēadenena, lēadnena lēadenra, lēadenena, lēadnena
Dative lēadenum, lēadnum lēadenum, lēadnum lēadenum, lēadnum
Instrumental lēadenum, lēadnum lēadenum, lēadnum lēadenum, lēadnum
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