The
leading coefficient of a
polynomial is the
coefficient of the
monomial term with the greatest
degree that has a
nonzero coefficient.
For a generic polynomial in x,
anxn + an-1xn-1 + ... a1x + a0, where n is the largest nonnegative integer such that an is not equal to 0,
the leading coefficient is an. If the leading coefficient is equal to 1, then the polynomial is monic.