Phrase guide

white lead

noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

Tin, golden marcasite.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: obsolete, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A basic lead carbonate, particularly (historical) as once widely used for white paint, whitening cosmetics, and early medicine.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: lead white, flake white, silver white, slate white, ceruse, Venetian ceruse, Venetian white, white poison

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

a poisonous white pigment that contains lead

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: ceruse, lead carbonate

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: pigment

History

Etymology

In the tin sense, a calque of Latin plumbum album (literally “white lead”), a term already in use before our era, for tin and lead were not yet properly distinguished prior to modern times. Compare Latin plumbum candidum (literally “shining-white lead”) and Arabic رَصَاص أَبْيَض (raṣāṣ ʔabyaḍ, “white lead”), both of which were also used to mean “tin” and to distinguish it from lead proper, called “black lead” (plumbum nigrum; رَصَاص أَسْوَد (raṣāṣ ʔaswad)) in those ancient tongues.

Across languages

Translations

33 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: سِبِيدَاج (sibīdāj) — lead carbonate
  • Arabic: بَارُوق (bārūq) — lead carbonate
  • Arabic: بَيَاض (bayāḍ) — lead carbonate
  • Bengali: সফেদী (śophedi) — lead carbonate
  • Bulgarian: оловно белило (olovno belilo) — lead carbonate
  • Catalan: blanc de plom — lead carbonate
  • Catalan: blanquet — lead carbonate
  • Czech: plavajz — lead carbonate
  • Czech: olovnatá běloba — lead carbonate
  • Dutch: loodwit — lead carbonate
  • Finnish: lyijyvalkoinen — lead carbonate
  • French: céruse — lead carbonate
  • French: blanc de plomb — lead carbonate
  • French: blanc de Saturne — lead carbonate
  • German: Bleiweiß — lead carbonate
  • Ancient Greek: ψίμυθος (psímuthos) — lead carbonate
  • Gujarati: સફેદો (saphedo) — lead carbonate
  • Hungarian: ólomfehér — lead carbonate
  • Irish: luaidhe bhán — lead carbonate
  • Italian: bianchetto — lead carbonate
  • Italian: biacca — lead carbonate
  • Korean: 연백 (yeonbaek) — lead carbonate
  • Latin: cērussa — lead carbonate
  • Latin: abarath — lead carbonate
  • Persian: سپیداب (sepīdāb) — lead carbonate
  • Polish: blejwas — lead carbonate
  • Portuguese: alvaiade — lead carbonate
  • Romanian: ceruză — lead carbonate
  • Romanian: alb de plumb — lead carbonate
  • Russian: свинцо́вые бели́ла (svincóvyje belíla) — lead carbonate
  • Spanish: albayalde — lead carbonate
  • Swedish: blyvitt — lead carbonate
  • Welsh: plwm gwyn — lead carbonate