Years of Lead

proper noun

A period during the Cold War, characterized by left-wing and right-wing terrorism and the strategy of tension, beginning in Italy and later spreading to the rest of Europe.

OriginItalian anni di piombo →
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

proper noun
  1. historicalA period during the Cold War, characterized by left-wing and right-wing terrorism and the strategy of tension, beginning in Italy and later spreading to the rest of Europe.

Origin

  1. Italiananni di piombo
  2. EnglishYears of Lead

Calque of Italian anni di piombo.

More words from Italian

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

Years of Lead. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Years%20of%20Lead

MLA

“Years of Lead.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Years%20of%20Lead. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Years of Lead,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Years%20of%20Lead.

Source: Years of Lead on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.