LEDE

lead, lead-in, lede

(noun) the introductory section of a story; “it was an amusing lead-in to a very serious matter”

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology 1

Noun

lede (plural lede)

(now chiefly, UK dialectal, singular) A man; person.

(chiefly, UK dialectal, Scotland, collective plural) Men; people, folk.

(UK dialectal, Scotland, singular) A people or nation.

(chiefly, UK dialectal, plural) Tenements; holdings; possessions.

Etymology 2

Noun

lede (plural ledes)

(chiefly US, journalism) The introductory paragraph(s) of a newspaper or other news article.

Usage notes

Usage seems mostly confined to the U.S. Originally only journalistic usage that is now so common in general US English that it is no longer labeled as jargon by major US dictionaries such as Merriam-Webster and American Heritage. Noted as “sometimes spelled” in 1959, “often spelled” in 1969, and asserted in the 1979 reprint of a 1974 book (see Citations page). In 1990, William Safire was still able to say that lede was jargon not listed in regular dictionaries.