Lead Belly

1 8.0

An American folk singer and songwriter who sings with a strong voice and plays twelve-string guitar

proper noun
/liːd ˈbɛli/

: Lead Belly

Huddie Ledbetter and Lead Belly were the same person?

Examples

During his lifetime, Lead Belly became famous for songs like 'Goodnight, Irene' and 'Midnight Special.'
Many consider Lead Belly's music to be crucial to the development of American folk and blues traditions.
Lead Belly was a legendary Lead Belly singer known for his powerful voice and mastery of the twelve-string guitar.

Synonyms

Leadbelly

vsLead Belly

2 8.7

An American folk and blues singer who wrote many songs in the early 1900s

is the two-word form of the same name written separately

Surface Forms

Lead Belly main

Morphology

Lead + Belly

This is a proper name/stage name referring to a specific person (the folk singer Lead Belly), not a concept built from the meanings of 'lead' and 'belly.' Even if a learner knows the literal words, they would not be able to infer the biographical identity or profession from the constituents, so the expression is arbitrary and non-compositional.

Etymology

Lead Belly may come from a childhood accident: one popular story says he was hit by lead shot in the stomach, so people said he had lead in his belly. That 'nickname' stuck, and today Lead Belly is the name we use for the singer known for his strong voice and songs.