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Leading
Definitions
- 1 Providing guidance or direction. not-comparable
"Avoid leading questions if you really want the truth."
- 2 Ranking first. not-comparable
"He is a leading supplier of plumbing supplies in the county."
- 3 Occurring in advance; preceding. not-comparable
"The stock market can be a leading economic indicator."
- 1 going or proceeding or going in advance; showing the way wordnet
- 2 indicating the most important performer or role wordnet
- 3 greatest in importance or degree or significance or achievement wordnet
- 4 having the leading position or higher score in a contest wordnet
- 1 An act by which one is led or guided.
"It has been said that we ought not to force our way, but to wait for the openings, and leadings of Providence; but it might with equal propriety be answered in this case, neither ought we to neglect embracing those openings in providence which daily present themselves to us."
- 2 Vertical space added between lines; line spacing. uncountable
- 3 the activity of leading wordnet
- 4 Command of an army or military unit. archaic
"Art thou but Captaine of a thouſand horſe, That by Characters grauen in thy browes, And by thy martiall face and ſtout aſpect, Deſeru’ſt to haue the leading of an hoſte?"
- 5 thin strip of metal used to separate lines of type in printing wordnet
- 1 present participle and gerund of lead form-of, gerund, participle, present
"I had occasion […] to make a somewhat long business trip to Chicago, and on my return […] I found Farrar awaiting me in the railway station. He smiled his wonted fraction by way of greeting, […], and finally leading me to his buggy, turned and drove out of town."
Etymology
From Middle English ledinge, ledynge, ledand, ledande, ledende, from Old English lǣdende, from Proto-West Germanic *laidijandī, from Proto-Germanic *laidijandz, present participle of Proto-Germanic *laidijaną (“to lead”), equivalent to lead + -ing. Compare West Frisian liedend, Dutch leidend, German leitend, Swedish ledande, Icelandic leiðandi.
From Middle English ledinge, ledynge, ledand, ledande, ledende, from Old English lǣdende, from Proto-West Germanic *laidijandī, from Proto-Germanic *laidijandz, present participle of Proto-Germanic *laidijaną (“to lead”), equivalent to lead + -ing. Compare West Frisian liedend, Dutch leidend, German leitend, Swedish ledande, Icelandic leiðandi.
From Middle English leding, ledyng, ledinge, ledunge, equivalent to lead + -ing. Cognate with Dutch leiding (“conduit, leading, guidance, leadership”), German Leitung (“line, conduit, cable”).
From Middle English leedynge, equivalent to lead (chemical element) + -ing; so named because in metal typesetting (letterpress and hot metal typesetting), pieces of lead (slugs, strips, blocks, etc) were often the mechanical means of producing the gap.
See also for "leading"
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