pot-leadv.
/ˈpɒtlɛd/, U.S. /ˈpɑtˌlɛd/ Now disused.
transitive. To coat with pot lead; esp. to treat (the hull of a racing yacht) with pot lead to improve speed through the water (see pot lead n. 2).
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > shipbuilding and repairing > build a ship [verb (transitive)] > fit out or equip > clean and coat ship's bottom > coat with pot-lead
pot-lead1876
1876 A. C. Cowperthwaite Insanity in its Medico-legal Relations 292 The usual time required for each inunction is about twenty minutes, the skin looking on its completion as though it had been pot-leaded.
1886 Daily Northwestern (Oshkosh, Wisconsin) 17 Aug. After being scrubbed she will be pot-leaded up to the water line.
1894 Outing 24 72/1 The racing shell, used only three times, its bottom pot-leaded, is brought out.
1901 Davenport (Iowa) Daily Republican 10 Aug. 2/1 A force of experts was at work pot leading and putting the racing finish on the hulls of the rival boats.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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