▪ I. leader1
(ˈliːdə(r))
Forms: 4–6 ledar(e, -er(e, (4 ledder, leeder, 5 ledir, leedare), 5–7 Sc. leidar, -er, (6 ledair), 6– leader.
[OE. lǽdere, f. lǽdan lead v.1 + -er1.]
I. One who leads.
1. a. gen. in various senses of the vb.: One who conducts, precedes as a guide, leads a person by the hand or an animal by a cord, etc. Also with adverbs, as leader-away, leader-on, for which see the corresponding verbal phrases. follow my leader: see follow v. 1 c.
| a 1300 E.E. Psalter liv. 14 Mi leder, and mi kowth sa gode. c 1374 Chaucer Troylus iv. 1454 (1482) Oon thynketh þe bere But al a-nother thynketh his ledere. 1375 Barbour Bruce vii. 20 He suld ger Bath the sleuthhund and the ledar Tyne the sleuth men ger him ta. 1382 Wyclif Matt. xv. 14 Thei ben blynde, and lederis of blynde men. 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xii. viii. (1495) 418 Curlewes haue guydes and ledars as cranes haue for they drede the goshawke. c 1450 St. Cuthbert (Surtees) 5675 Withouten ledar nedit he [a man struck blind] To abyde behynd. 1513 Douglas æneis i. xi. 5 Blyithlie following his ledair Achates. 1552 Huloet, Leder awaye, abductor. 1598 Shakes. Merry W. iii. ii. 3 You were wont to be a follower, but now you are a leader. 1633 Ford Broken H. i. ii, Without Reason, Voycing the Leader-on a Demi-god. 1667 Milton P.L. vi. 451 Leader to free Enjoyment of our right as Gods. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 526 Ample Plains, Where oft the Flocks without a Leader stray. 1838 Dickens Nich. Nick. xiii, Follow your leader, boys, and take pattern by Smike if you dare. 1861 J. Edmond Childr. Ch. at Home i. 17 Christ is..a leader to all that trust him. |
† b. One who has the charge of (animals).
| 1495 Act 11 Hen. VII, c. 34 §4 The office of the Maistershippe of the leder of the Dere of the parke of Okeley. |
† c. The driver of a vehicle (obs.). d. dial. A carter.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 21283 Bath wise and war es þat leder [sc. of þe wain]. 1497 Ld. Treas. Acc. Scot. (1877) I. 355 Item, to the sand ledaris, xviijs. 1548 in Burgh Rec. Edin. (1871) II. 141 That na maner of persouns ledares of burne tak [etc.]. 1847 Sheffield Indep. (E.D.D.), A coal leader. 1887 Donaldson Suppl. to Jamieson s.v., Until comparatively late years the occupation of water-carrier was followed by a large number of men and women, some carried by hand..; some by barrow..; and some by cart—those were the leaders. 1888 Sheffield Gloss., Leader, a carter. ‘A coal leader’. |
2. One who leads a body of armed men; a commander, a captain.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 7630 And of a thusand men o wal He made him [David] ledder and marscal. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) V. 217 The oost of þe Gothes was i-slawe in Thuscia, and here ledere Ragadasius was i-take. c 1400 tr. Secreta Secret, Gov. Lordsh. 108–9 Off lederes off ostes and here ordinaunce..Folwe þanne vche comandour tene vicaires, & vche vicaire tene lederes, & vche ledere tene denys. c 1470 Henry Wallace iv. 143 Our leidar is gayne, Amang our fays he is set him allayne. 1591 Shakes. 1 Hen. VI, i. i. 143 A worthy Leader, wanting ayd, Vnto his dastard foe-men is betray'd. 1665 Manley Grotius' Low C. Warres 715 Sir Horace Vere..performed the duty, both of a good Leader and Souldier. 1828 Scott F.M. Perth xii, All this day..they will gather to their leader's standard. 1844 H. H. Wilson Brit. India III. 20 Detachments of troops were..sent..to secure the leaders. |
3. a. One who guides others in action or opinion; one who takes the lead in any business, enterprise, or movement; one who is ‘followed’ by disciples or adherents; the chief of a sect or party. † In early use occas. a chieftain, governor.
Leader of the House of Commons: the member of the government who has the official initiative in the proceedings of the House; (see also quot. 1964); freq. ellipt. as Leader of the House; so Leader of the House of Lords (or Leader of the Upper House).
| 1375 Barbour Bruce iii. 660 Anguss..wes.. lord and ledar off kyntyr. 1495 Act 11 Hen. VII, c. 7 The seid..principall or principallis leder or leders that unlaufully cause the seid people to gedre or rise. 1532 More Confut. Tindale Wks. 515/2 The leaders and maisters of the christen fayth. 1552 Abp. Hamilton Catech. (1884) 47 To be ledar techar & direckar of the same kirk. 1596 Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scotl. ix. 213 For his brotheris caus he was cheif leider of the ring. 1666 Temple Let. to Godolphin Wks. 1713 II. 18 The Duke of Albuquerque you will find..no great Leader in Council or Business. 1719–20 Swift Let. Yng. Clergyman Misc. (1727) I. 361 Demosthenes and Cicero..each of them a Leader..in a popular State. 1771 Junius Lett. liv. 286, I am a partizan of the great leader of the opposition. 1828 D'Israeli Chas. I, II. xi. 269 A genius so commanding and so turbulent, was fitted to be the leader of a party. 1835 Ann. Reg. 1834 335/2 It was requisite to find a new chancellor of the Exchequer, and a new leader of the House of Commons. 1841–4 Emerson Ess., Manners Wks. (Bohn) I. 208 If the people should destroy class after class, until two men only were left, one of these would be the leader. 1852 Disraeli Ld. G. Bentinck xx. 397 The government abandoned this..project..scarcely with decency, for the leader of the house of lords was eulogizing its virtues..at the moment it was cast away by the chancellor of the exchequer. 1852 Ld. Palmerston Let. 24 Dec. in J. Russell Later Corr. (1925) II. xx. 119 If the extensive duties of Leader of the House of Commons can be performed without salary why should any public officer have any? 1855 ― Let. 7 Feb. in Queen Victoria Lett. (1907) III. xxiv. 131 Proposed cabinet... Organ of the Government or Leader of the House of Lords. Marquis of Lansdowne. 1868 C. D. Yonge Life 2nd Earl of Liverpool I. iv. 145 According to the usage of that day, when the Prime Minister was a Commoner, the Home Secretary, if a peer, was the leader of the Upper House. 1869 A. Todd On Parl. Govt. in Eng. II. iv. 323 The leader of the House of Commons is at liberty to arrange the order of business appointed for government nights as he thinks fit. 1874 Green Short Hist. viii. §5. 500 The leaders in the country party..were thrown into prison. 1883 Froude Short Stud. IV. ii. ii. 187 Circumstances independent of himself could alone have raised him into a leader of a party. 1908 A. E. Steinthal tr. Redlich's Procedure House of Commons I. 120 The name and function of the chief member of the Government in the House of Commons, the Leader of the House. 1964 Abraham & Hawtrey Parl. Dict. (ed. 2) 111 The term ‘Leader of the House’ was originally applied to the chief spokesman for the Government in the House of Commons when the Prime Minister was a member of the House of Lords. Ibid., The Leader of the House receives no salary as such... His chief responsibility is for planning and supervising the Government's legislative programme, and in particular for the arrangement..of the business of the House. Ibid. 112 The Leader of the House of Lords is the chief spokesman for the Government in that House. 1974 Guardian 30 Apr. 1/4 A statement from Mr Short, Leader of the House, on the registration of interests is promised later this week, but there are deep differences between the parties over whether the register should be compulsory or voluntary. Ibid., A promised personal statement by Mr Short, Deputy Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the House of Commons, was delayed by several hours last night. |
† b. Phrases. leader of laws: one who has power in the state, a ruler. leader of hail: a guide to salvation. Obs.
| 13.. E.E. Allit. P. B. 1307 He..hatz..þe lederes of her lawe layd to þe grounde. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints i. (Petrus) 674 And þu [Paul] dere brothir, far wele ay lledar of heile and saweoure. c 1440 York Myst. xxx. 55 O leder of lawis. a 1605 Montgomerie Sonn. xxi. 1 My lords, late lads, nou leidars of our lauis. |
c. A counsel who ‘leads’ (see lead v.1 16) in the conduct of a case before the court; a barrister whose status (in England, that of a King's Counsel) entitles him to ‘lead’. Also, the senior counsel of a circuit.
| 1856 Wilkie Collins A Rogue's Life v, He had engaged the leader of the circuit to defend me. 1878 Ball Student's Guide to Bar 44 At the trial itself he will generally have a ‘leader’ on whom the conduct of the case will wholly depend. 1883 J. H. Slater Guide Legal Prof. 17 Queen's Counsel are usually termed ‘Leaders’, and they sit in front of the utter Barristers, whom they are said to ‘lead’ in any particular case in which both are engaged. |
d. The foremost or most eminent member (of a profession); also, in wider sense, a person of eminent position and influence.
| 1858 O. W. Holmes Aut. Breakf.-t. v. (1859) 115 Judges, mayors..leaders in science..were represented in that meeting. 1884 Illustr. Lond. News 1 Nov. 410/3 Here is Mr. F. Archer, the leader of his profession. |
e. spec. as a rendering of G. Führer, It. Duce, or Sp. Caudillo: the head of an authoritarian state. Usu. with capital initial. Also transf. (in quot. 1934 applied to the leader of the British Fascists, Sir Oswald Mosley).
| 1918 [see caudillo]. 1934 H. G. Wells Exper. Autobiogr. II. ix. 783 Quite a quantity of pleasant boys and nice young men.. were acting as ushers, selling idiotic songs about their glorious Leader. 1937 A. Huxley Ends & Means i. 2 The twentieth [century] has already witnessed..the emergence of the sheep-like social man and the god-like Leader. 1939 S. Spender tr. Toller's Pastor Hall i. 48 I've never spoken a word against the Leader. 1952 A. Bullock Hitler iii. 123 There was persistent..grumbling at the amount of money the Leader and his friends took out of Party funds for their own expenses. 1960 H. Seton-Watson Neither War nor Peace viii. 226 The head of the government was the Chancellor, Adolf Hitler, who was also Leader (Führer) of the party, and on the death of President Hindenburg in 1934 replaced him as Head of State with the title of Leader of the German Nation. |
4. One who leads a choir or band of dancers, musicians, or singers. leader of praise (Sc.) = precentor.
| 1530 Palsgr. 238/1 Leeder of a daunce, auant dancevr. 1599 Shakes. Much Ado ii. i. 157 We must follow the Leaders. 1811 Busby Dict. Mus. (ed. 3), Leader, a performer who in a concert takes the principal violin, receives the time and style of the movements from the conductor, and communicates them to the rest of the band. 1859 Jephson Brittany xvi. 269 The leader, as in our village churches, was evidently a person of immense importance. 1892 Glasgow Herald 22 Apr. 2/2 Leader of Praise Wanted. 1900 Blackw. Mag. July 51/1 The leader trills ahead in runs and shakes up and down the scale. |
5. Among Methodists, the presiding member of a ‘class’ (see class n. 7 b). Usually class-leader.
| 1743 Wesley Nat. United Societies Wks. 1872 VIII. 270 There are about twelve persons in every class; one of whom is styled the Leader. 1791 [see class n. 7 b]. |
6. a. The first man in a file, one in the front rank, one of the foremost in a moving body. In Surveying, the foremost carrier of the chain.
| 1604 Edmonds Observ. Cæsar's Comm. 130 Euery one is especially to acknowledge his leader or foremost man to be the author of all his motions. 1616–1809 [see file-leader s.v. file n.2 11]. 1622 Peacham Compl. Gent. (1634) 240 The men in the File are to be distinguished by the names of Leaders, Bringers up and Middle-men. 1857 Hughes Tom Brown i. vii, The leaders are busy making casts into the fields on the left and right. 1860 Tyndall Glac. i. xxv. 188 Another person was sent forward, who drew himself up by the rope which was attached to the leader. |
b. One of the front horses in a team, or the front horse in a tandem.
| a 1700 B. E. Dict. Cant. Crew, Leaders..the Fore-horses in Coaches and Teams. 1784 Cowper Tiroc. 254 With pack-horse constancy we keep the road..True to the jingling of our leader's bells. 1825 Hone Every-day Bk. I. 1191 He was a capital horse, the off-leader. 1859 Dickens T. Two Cities i. ii, The near leader violently shook his head. 1886 Ruskin Præterita I. vi. 182 If the horses were young..there was a postillion for the leaders also. |
7. a. Cards. The first player in a round; also, one who ‘leads’ from a particular suit.
| 1677 Miege Eng.-Fr. Dict. s.v., A leader, in Cards, celui que joue le premier. 1742 Hoyle Whist (1763) 45 If the Leader of that Suit or his Partner have the long Trump. 1876 A. Campbell-Walker Correct Card Gloss. (1880) 12 Leader, the first to play each round. |
b. Curling. The first player: cf. lead n.2 5 a.
| 1789 D. Davidson Seasons 166 Next Robin o' Mains, a leader good, Close to the witter drew. |
II. A thing which leads.
8. a. gen. b. colloq. A remark or question intended to lead conversation (cf. feeler 4 b). c. Comm. (orig. U.S.) = leading article 2; cf. loss leader s.v. loss n.1 10.
| c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 33/124 Þe steorre gan softe to glide forth, also it were þene way to teche... Þe Abbot Anourede his ledare. c 1450 tr. De Imitatione iii. lxi. 143 Þe crosse is þe lif of a gode monke, & þe leder to paradise. 1581 Mulcaster Positions Ep. Ded. (1887) 4 It is an argument which craueth consideration, bycause it is the leader to a further consequence. 1851 C. Cist Sk. Cincinnati in 1851 xv. 319 These articles [sc. sugar, molasses, coffee, etc.] are the leaders, as they are called, in commercial transactions, with the west. 1882 Mrs. J. H. Riddell Pr. Wales's Garden-Party 34 ‘And what did you make of them over the dish of tea?’ suggested the young man as a leader. 1888 Chicago Tribune 29 Apr. 4/7 Goods advertised and sold below cost are technically known as ‘leaders’. 1889 Pop. Sci. Monthly XXXIV. 622 A new rival may inflict severe loss..through cutting the price of a staple below cost, and making it what is called a ‘leader’. 1895 Critic 6 Apr. 263/1 In several Sixth Avenue houses, new books by popular writers have long been used as ‘leaders’—the technical name, I believe, for goods sold at little or no profit, sometimes even at a loss, for the sake of drawing customers, with a view of getting them to buy other wares as well. 1963 ‘R. Findlater’ What are Writers Worth? 14 Most [paperback] firms produce about a dozen titles every month..at the summit the ‘leader’—the smash-hit novel on which the selling machine is focused. 1967 Times Rev. Industry Feb. 31/1 Establishing new products is both costly and hazardous..while old leaders tend to decline over the years. 1972 Lebende Sprachen XVII. 34/1 US leader—BE/US loss leader, BE leading article. |
9. In a tree or shrub: The shoot which grows at the apex of the stem, or of a principal branch; also, a bine.
| 1572 L. Mascall Plant. & Graff. (1592) 75 Ye shall neuer leaue aboue two or three leaders at the head of any principall branch. 1822 Loudon Encycl. Gardening 808 Retain a competent supply of side-shoots, with a good leader to each mother-branch. 1880 Jefferies Gt. Estate 89 The leaders of the black bryony..twist around each other. 1892 Gardeners' Chron. 27 Aug. 242/1 The trees are allowed to waste their energies in the formation of a plurality of leaders at the top. |
10. A tendon. (Cf. guide, guider.)
| 1708 J. C. Compl. Collier (1845) 23 Cutting their Leaders and Nerves. 1737 Bracken Farriery Impr. (1757) II. 22 What the common People call Leaders or Sinews. 1854 Owen Skel. & Teeth (1855) 3 The leaders of the leg-muscles in the turkey. 1891 Daily News 4 Sept. 3/7 In his second performance he severed one of the leaders of his thigh. |
11. a. In agricultural drainage: A main drain. b. A tributary.
| 1844 Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. V. i. 9 One of the drains that enter the leader. 1853 G. Johnston Nat. Hist. E. Bord. I. 15 The leaders to these burns are, in some places, called sykes. |
12. = leading article 1.
| 1837 Southern Lit. Messenger III. 418/2 The Editor thus commenceth his leader. 1838 Dickens Let. 23 Dec. (1965) I. 475, I was very much obliged indeed to you for the paper. I..was greatly amused with the ‘leader’. 1844 Disraeli Coningsby ii. vi, Give me a man who can write a leader. 1847 R. P. Milnes in T. W. Reid Life Ld. Houghton (1891) I. ix. 401 You can get..a file of the Times, the commercial leaders of which you should get up. 1862 Shirley Nugæ Crit. xi. 482 He thought a page of Clarendon as pleasant historical reading as a leader in the Times. 1892 B. Matthews Americanisms & Brit. 22 An American..calls that an ‘editorial’ which the Englishman calls a ‘leader’. |
13. Mining. a. A drain or stream that by its colour indicates the presence of minerals. b. (See quot. 1846.) c. A small and insignificant vein, which leads to or indicates the proximity of a larger and better.
| 1809 A. Henry Trav. 231 A green-coloured water, which tinged iron of a copper-colour, issued from the hill; and this the miners called a leader. 1846 Brockett N.C. Words, Leader, a small band of coal connecting the portions of a coal-seam detached by a dyke, and following which, leads the miner to the seam again. 1855 Cornwall 95 Frequently the prevailing mineral runs continuously through the lode for considerable lengths and depths, forming what is called the leader. 1880 C. C. Adley Rep. Pioneer Mining Co. 2 Oct. 1 Two strong veins or leaders carrying copper ore have been crossed. 1890 Goldfields Victoria 16 The prospects of the mine have improved, two auriferous leaders having been cut. 1900 Daily News 19 June 3/2 One or two tunnels had been drawn..on small leaders and..diamonds had been discovered. |
14. Fireworks and Gunnery. A quick match enclosed in a paper tube for the purpose of conveying fire rapidly. Also attrib., as leader pipe (see quot.).
| 1859 F. A. Griffiths Artil. Man. (1862) 60 Lay a leader of quick match along the bore. Ibid. 282. 1878 Kentish Pyrotechn. Treas. 103 Leader Pipes. These are for piping quickmatch. |
15. Fishing. (U.S.) a. The end portion of a reel-line, consisting of gut, and having the snells of the fly-hooks attached to it; a casting-line.
| 1859 Bartlett Dict. Amer., Leader, a length of finely twisted hair, gut, or grass, for attaching an angler's hook to the line; a bottom. Called also a Snell. 1885 Harper's Mag. Apr. 777/1 The flies are attached to a leader, or, as our English brethren term it, a casting-line. |
b. ‘A net so placed as to intercept fish and lead them into a pound, weir, trap-net, etc.’ (Knight Dict. Mech. Suppl. 1884).
16. Machinery. a. (See quots.)
| 1805 Brewster in Ferguson's Lect. I. 82 note, In a combination of wheels that which is acted upon by the power, or by some other wheel is called a leader. 1825 J. Nicholson Operat. Mechanic 21 When speaking of the action of wheel-work in general, the wheel which acts as a mover is called the leader, and the one upon which it acts the follower. 1895 Mod. Steam Engine 58 The wheels of a locomotive are called—1st, leaders or leading-wheels. |
b. U.S. = leading block. c. ‘A principal furrow leading from the eye to the skirt of a mill-stone’ (1875 Knight Dict. Mech. s.v. Millstone). d. ‘One of the long vertical timbers guiding the ram of a pile-driver car’ (Funk's Stand. Dict.).
17. Printing. A line of dots or dashes to guide the eye in letterpress.
| 1824 J. Johnson Typogr. II. iii. 59 Full points are sometimes used as leaders in tables of contents. 1871 Amer. Encycl. Printing (ed. Ringwalt), Leaders (.... or ---), these consist of two or three dots, similar to full points, cast on one type, to the em body; there are also two or three em leaders, the number of dots being multiplied according to their length. Hyphen-faced leaders are also made (----). |
18. Sc. and U.S. A pipe to conduct water.
| 1875 in Knight Dict. Mech. 1890 Lowson Guidfollow xix. 161 The name ‘Spout’ was derived from a spout, stroupe, or leader, that was inserted into the bank..leading the water which ran [etc.]. |
19. U.S. A guiding ring in an animal's nose. (Cent. Dict.)
20. Cinemat. and Tape Recording. A short length of blank or uncoated film or tape attached at the beginning or end of a reel for purposes of threading or identification.
| 1917 C. N. Bennett Guide to Kinematogr. xi. 185 Refrain from..cutting or punching holes in the film leaders. 1960 J. M. Lloyd All-in-One Tape Recorder Bk. (ed. 4) v. 63 The inside and outside leaders are usually of different colours. 1969 J. Elliot Duel iii. ii. 233 She went to..learn the mysteries of..opticals and leaders and parallel and printing sync. 1969 D. N. Wood On Tape vii. 82 This brings me to the other main use of the leader tape—to act as a title... It is possible to use a chinagraph pencil on the tape itself, but it is much better to use leaders for this purpose. |
21. Meteorol. In full, leader stroke. A preliminary stroke of lightning that ionizes the path taken by the much brighter return stroke that follows.
| 1934 Schonland & Collens in Proc. R. Soc. A. CXLIII. 657 These preliminary downward strokes will be referred to as leader strokes and the upward strokes which follow them will be called main strokes. Ibid., Sometimes the leader is so faint that a portion only of the track can be seen. 1937 Jrnl. Inst. Electr. Engin. LXXXI. 6/2 Immediately the stepped leader stroke reaches the earth the..return stroke begins to travel..from earth to cloud. Ibid., The leaders to the second and subsequent strokes of a flash usually travel from cloud to ground in a single flight. 1963 Meteorol. Gloss. (Meteorol. Office) (ed. 4) 154 Leader strokes directed upwards from ground to cloud may predominate in the case of very high structures. 1966 McGraw-Hill Encycl. Sci. & Technol. VII. 510/1 Cloud-to-cloud strokes also involve a step leader and main return stroke. |
22. attrib. and Comb., as (sense 3 e) leader-principle, leader-worship; (sense 6 b) leader-mule; (sense 12) leader-column, leader-note, leader-page, leader-writer. leader board orig. U.S., a score-board, esp. at a golf-course, on which the names, etc., of the leading competitors are displayed; leader stroke (see sense 21); leader tape, uncoated tape intended for use as a leader on a reel of magnetic tape; a length of tape so used.
| 1970 Golf Digest Aug. 40/3 Last year there were not enough *leader boards and scoreboards at the PGA. 1986 Sunday Express Mag. 9 Nov. 79/1 The maverick of the golf course. That phrase summed up Severiano Ballesteros when he first appeared on the leader boards. |
| 1897 Daily News 3 June 5/4 The problem set in our *leader columns the other day. |
| 1890 L. D'Oyle Notches 108 Not forgetting..to bestow an occasional cut upon the *leader-mules. |
| 1932 J. Buchan Gap in Curtain i. 54 Each of us must concentrate on one particular part to which his special interest was pledged—Tavanger on the first City page, for example, Mayot on the *leader page, [etc.]. 1938 Observer 9 Jan. 5/1 (Advt.), Eugene Lyons..Assignment in Utopia..‘A moving and truthful account...’—Malcolm Muggeridge (D. Telegraph, leader-page article). 1940 ‘G. Orwell’ Crit. Ess. (1951) 80 The absence of the *leader-principle. There is no central dominating character. 1960 J. M. Lloyd All-in-One Tape Recorder Bk. (ed. 4) v. 64 *Leader tape is transparent and is shiny on both sides. 1962 A. Nisbett Technique Sound Studio vi. 107 A leader tape (giving summarized details of the contents) and a trailer (several feet of coloured tape to give a visual indication of the end) may be cut on to the recording. 1971 Hi-Fi Sound Feb. 42 (Advt.), We also carry a full range of Accessories, Leader Tape, Empty Spools, Splicing Tape etc. |
| 1940 ‘G. Orwell’ Crit. Ess. (1951) 83 More bloodshed, more *leader-worship. |
| 1882 C. Pebody Eng. Journalism xix. 144 It is as a *leader-writer and special correspondent that he will be best remembered. 1888 Besant Inner House 3 No news came. This was especially hard on the leader-writers. 1940 Manch. Guardian Weekly 22 Mar. 228 But now it is stated in Berlin that Mr. Kuusinen ‘has been promoted to be a leader-writer on an obscure provincial paper’. |
Add: [II.] 8. d. Comm. A share that is leading the movement of prices on a stock exchange; more generally, a leading economic indicator.
| 1938 New Statesman 30 Apr. 750/1 Oil shares were banged in the ‘Street’ on Tuesday night, the leaders falling by about 5s. 1965 Financial Times 2 Jan. 1 (in figure) Leaders and Laggards. Percentage Change in 1964. 1971 Webster Add., Leader,..an economic indicator..that more often than not shows a change in direction before a corresponding change in the state of the economy. 1976 Liverpool Echo 7 Dec. 18/1 Leaders edged forward, but most had to struggle to hold the higher positions. 1990 European Investor May 35/1 For the moment, we believe it is safe to stay with the leaders with high earnings visibility such as AIB, CRH and FII-Fyffes. |
▸ Leader of the Opposition n. Polit. (in a multi-party democracy) the person leading the principal party in opposition to the government; (spec. in the United Kingdom) the MP chosen to lead the largest opposition party in the House of Commons.
| 1771 Junius Lett. liv. 286, I am a partizan of the great leader of the opposition. 1836 W. Dunlap Mem. Water Drinker I. i. 18 He [sc. Pitt] was the leader of the opposition in parliament. 1884 Manch. Examiner 27 Aug. 5/2 The Leader of the Opposition would hardly go to Oban on a stumping expedition. 1915 S. Phillips Armageddon iii. 54 On Tuesday night the leader of the Opposition engaged in personal conflict with the Chancellor of the Exchequer. 1959 Cape Times 4 Feb. 1/1 Mr. Ray Stockil yesterday announced his intention to retire as Leader of the Opposition in the Southern Rhodesia Parliament. 1991 Hindu (Madras) 6 Dec. 1/6 In 1988, the then Speaker, Niaz Hussain, had refused to accept Mr. Mulayam Singh Yadav as the Leader of the Opposition after a split in the Lok Dal which was reduced to a minority but had claimed the support of the left parties and the Janata Party. 1999 Guardian (Electronic ed.) 7 Feb. Since William Hague became Leader of the Opposition, it has been fashionable to compare him with Neil Kinnock. |
▪ II. † ˈleader2 Obs. rare—0.
[f. lead v.2 (? or n.1) + -er1.]
A plumber.
| c 1440 Promp. Parv. 292/1 Leedare or plummare. |