Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
to blacklead

to blacklead

9.9
To cover a stove or grate with black powder so it looks shiny
  • verb
  • Archaic
translation icon : pintar con grafito
  • She used to blacklead the old kitchen stove every Saturday morning.

Examples

  • The housekeeper blackleaded the fireplace grate as part of her daily chores.

  • Don't forget to blacklead the fireplace!

  • After blackleading the stove, it gleamed and looked almost new.

  • She blackleads the stove every month.

  • After blackleading the stove, it gleamed and looked almost new.

  • She used to blacklead the old kitchen stove every Saturday morning.

  • The housekeeper blackleaded the fireplace grate as part of her daily chores.

Synonyms

to black
vsto blacklead
120 2.1

To make or become dark in color

involves applying graphite and polishing for a shiny finish rather than general darkening
to blackwash
vsto blacklead
9.9

To apply a black liquid to a surface to make it dark

uses graphite and polishing to produce a shiny black finish

Antonyms

to strip
  • Specialized
15 6.3

Remove a substance or part from material like soil

How Shiny

to blacklead
  • Archaic
9.9
to polish
46 1.1
to scrub
55 1.0
to clean
∞ 1.0
to wipe
531 1.0

Surface Forms

blacklead infinitive
blackleaded past
blackleaded past participle
blackleading present participle
blackleads third person singular

Morphology

blacklead = black + lead (semi-transparent) = black + lead

Formally a straightforward compound 'black' + 'lead', but the sense refers to graphite ('black lead') and the verb is specialized/archaic, which may confuse learners.

Etymology

Blacklead comes from the old name black and lead for the dark, shiny mineral now called 'graphite', because people once thought it was a kind of lead, like the 'lead' in a pencil. So to blacklead a stove or grate is to coat it with that dark material to give a shiny black finish.