lead pencil

A marking and drawing instrument, made by inclosing a slip of graphite (commonly called plumbago, or black-lead) in a casing of wood. This is generally round or hexagonal, but large pencils for the use of carpenters and others are sometimes made oval in section. lead-phosphate, s. Min.: The same as PYROMORPHITE (q. v.). lead-plant, s. Bot.: A popular name for Amorpha canescens. fate, făt, färe, amidst, what, fall, IMG:content-0429.png:[blocks in formation] "When thou goest, it shall lead thee." -Prov . vi. 22. 4. To precede; to introduce by going first. "I have received much honor by your presence, And ye shall find me thankful. Lead the way, lords." Shakesp.: Henry VIII., v. 4. 6. To guide; to show the method of attaining. 7. To induce, to prevail. "What I did, I did in honor, Led by the impartial conduct of my soul." leaden 8. To have a direction or tendency toward; to conduct. (Shakesp.: Sonnet 129.) 9. To hold the first place among; to guide; as, Mr. led the violins. 10. To pa , to spend. "To fancy the man of wit as leading a very agreeable life."- Goldsmith : On Polite Learning , ch. x. 11. To cause to spend or pa ; as, to lead a person a miserable life. II. Cards: Τo begin a round or trick with; as, to lead a heart. B. Intransitive: I. Ordinary Language: 1. To go before and show the way. "" Lead , then," said Eve. He, leading , swiftly rolled Milton: P. L. , ix. 631. In tangles." 2. To have a direction toward; to conduct. "The mountain-foot that leads toward Mantua." Shakesp.: Two Gentlemen of Verona, v. 2. 3. To have the position of commander, director, or chief. 4. To be faster than another; to be first. "Marmora led to the drain."- Field. 5. To have the post of preeminence or prece dence; as, to lead in an orchestra. 6. To entice, to draw on, to induce; as, Gambling leads to other vices. II. Cards: To play the first card in a round or trick; to have the lead. (1) To lead off : To make a start; to do any thing first. (2) To lead on : To entice, to allure; to draw on. "Appoint him a meeting, give him a show of comfort, and lead him on with a fine-baited delay." --Shakesp.: Merry Wives of Windsor, ii. 1. (3) To lead up to : To maneuver so as to gain an end. lead (2), s. [LEAD (2), v.] I. Ordinary Language : 1. Precedence; the first place; guidance. "The party which takes the lead there has no longer any apprehensions." -Burke: On a Regicide Peace , let. 3. 2. A navigable opening or pa age through a field of ice. 3. A watercourse, a lade (q. v.). II. Technically: 1. Cards: The right of playing the first card in a round or trick; the card or suit so played. 2. Engineer.: The distance from an earth-cutting to an embankment. 3. Mining : A lode or vein of ore. 4. Music : A point or short pa age which has to be given out by one particular part. When the word is used as a direction, it calls attention to the importance of that point. 5. Sawing : The overhang of a saw, to extend the cut throughout the length of the saw and to carry it back in the kerf during the return stroke. 6. Steam - engine : (1) An arrangement of the ports of a steam-valve by which steam is admitted in front of the piston a little before the end of the piston-stroke. Also an arrangement of the ports to provide for the escape of the steam from behind the piston before the completion of the stroke. When on the steam side it is called outside lead; when on the exhaust it is inside lead. It tends to check the velocity of the piston at the end of the stroke, and allows of the valve being open and ready to admit a larger supply of steam the instant the motion of the piston is reversed. (2) The setting of the crank of one engine a little in advance of the right angle to the other: viz., at 100° or 110° in place of 90°. This a ists in rendering the motion of the piston more uniform, by moder ating its velocity at the end of the stroke. Called also lead of the crank. 7. The at .: The leading or principal part; also, the person who plays it.