LED's

[jong2k4]

I've been wondering recently how LED is supposed to be pronounced verbally. Is it LED as in "that's a heavy hunk of lead (Pb) you have there" or LED as in "the general is the LEADer of his troops." I always pronounced it like Pb, not sure if I'd ever heard it before, but then I went into Radio Shack one day and upon mentioning them the clerk corrected me, pronouncing it with a long E sound.

[MulderMan]

i pronounce it "el" "ee" "dee", i thought thats the correct way.

[Hi Ho]

I also believe it is "el" "ee" "dee". It stands for Light Emitting Diode.

[jong2k4]

Yes, if one is pronouncing it as the ancronym. However, if one wants to save two syllables and just say it as a word, which would be the way to do it?

[Spartan]

Well if you called it a "led" or "lead" in electronic circles I don't think anyone would know what you are talking about. L-E-D is the way everyone refers to it.

-Spartan

[FLG]

If im talking to a friend and he knows what i mean then ill say it like "lead" (the heavy stuff)

If not i will say it the correct way "el" "ee" "dee"

[mattg2k4]

According to dictionary.com (http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=led) the two proper ways to pronounce it are like the element Pb and "ell ee dee".

[Hi Ho]

HERE (http://encarta.msn.com/dictionary_/led.html) is what Encarta Dictionary says. HERE (http://images.encarta.msn.com/xrefmedia/sharemed/targets/audio/pron/a30/A3027500.wav) is the audio pronunciation from Encarta.

[jong2k4]

Thank you all for your valuable research and assistance. If I ever happen to mention LEDs in Radio Shack again, I will do so armed with much better knowledge.