Etymology

Mid-20th century neologism from a deliberate misspelling of (reverting to its archaic, phonetic spelling – cf. Middle English below), intended to avoid confusion with its homograph meaning a strip of type metal used for positioning type in the frame.

Noun

1. The introductory paragraph(s) of a newspaper or other article. (Usage is “customary in many editorial rooms”.)

Usage notes

Usage seems mostly confined to the U.S. Journalistic usage noted as “sometimes spelled” in 1959, “often spelled” in 1969, and asserted in the 1979 reprint of a 1974 book (cf. Citations page below). Jargon not listed in regular dictionaries.

Also occasionally used on the English Wikipedia, to specifically denote the lead section of an article, rather than the lead of a subsection, etc.