leading
noun
- spacing between lines of type
- act as project leader, be the leader
- directed motion, be ahead of
adjective
No English definition recorded for this entry.
L338082 on Wikidata ↗Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ˈliːdɪŋ/ / /ˈlidɪŋ/ / /ˈlɛdɪŋ/
adj
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.
- Providing guidance or direction.
“Avoid leading questions if you really want the truth.”
- Ranking first.
“He is a leading supplier of plumbing supplies in the county.”
- Occurring in advance; preceding.
“The stock market can be a leading economic indicator.”
“Passengers on the earliest railway services would not even have enjoyed the luxury of a platform, instead having to step up onto the waiting open top wagons, where they would experience a journey that left many choking on the plumes of smoke exhaled by the leading locomotive.”
noun
Etymology: 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.
- Vertical space added between lines; line spacing.
verb
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.
- present participle and gerund of lead
“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.”