Lead"er (?), n.
1.
One who, or that which, leads or conducts; a guide; a conductor
. Especially: (a)
One who goes first.
(b)
One having authority to direct; a chief; a commander.
(c)
Mus. A performer who leads a band or choir in music; also, in an orchestra, the principal violinist; the one who plays at the head of the first violins.
(d)
Naut. A block of hard wood pierced with suitable holes for leading ropes in their proper places.
(e) Mach.
The principal wheel in any kind of machinery.
[Obs. or R.]
G. Francis. (f)
A horse placed in advance of others; one of the forward pair of horses.
He forgot to pull in his leaders, and they gallop away with him at times.
Hare.
(g)
A pipe for conducting rain water from a roof to a cistern or to the ground; a conductor
. (h) Fishing
A net for leading fish into a pound, weir, etc. ; also, a line of gut, to which the snell of a fly hook is attached.
(i) Mining
A branch or small vein, not important in itself, but indicating the proximity of a better one
.
2.
The first, or the principal, editorial article in a newspaper; a leading or main editorial article.
3. Print. (a)
A type having a dot or short row of dots upon its face.
(b) pl.
a row of dots, periods, or hyphens, used in tables of contents, etc., to lead the eye across a space to the right word or number.
Syn. -- chief; chieftain; commander. See Chief.
© Webster 1913.