leading

English

Etymology 1

From Old English lǣdan, probably a causative form of liþan (“travel”).

Pronunciation

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• Rhymes: -iːdɪŋ
• Rhymes: -ɛdɪŋ

Verb

leading

1. Present participle of lead.
   • 1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 2, The Celebrity:

     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.

Adjective

leading (comparative more leading, superlative most leading)

1. Providing guidance or direction.

   Avoiding leading questions if you really want the truth.

2. Ranking first.

   He is a leading supplier of plumbing supplies in the county.

3. Occurring in advance; preceding.

   The stock market can be a leading economic indicator.

Coordinate terms

• (occurring in advance): concurrent, lagging

Derived terms

• leading indicator

Translations

providing guidance

• Finnish: johdatteleva

ranking first

• Finnish: johtava

preceding

• Finnish: edeltävä (fi)

Noun

leading (plural leadings)

1. An act by which one is led or guided
   • 1792, William Carey, An Enquiry into the Obligations of Christians to Use Means for the^[1]:

     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.

   • 1855, Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass^[2]:

     […] I do not say leadings you thought great are not great, But I say that none lead to greater than these lead to.

   • 1904, Edward Dowden, Robert Browning^[3]:

     In his poetic method each writer followed the leadings of his own genius, without reference to common rules and standards; the individualism of the Revolutionary epoch asserted itself to the full.

Etymology 2

From lead (chemical element).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈlɛdɪŋ/

Noun

Wikipedia

leading (uncountable)

1. (typography) Vertical space added between lines; line spacing

Translations

Vertical space added between lines; line spacing

• German: Zeilenabstand (de) m
• Irish: scaradh m

• Russian: интерлиньяж (ru) m (interlinʹjaž)

Anagrams

• adeling, aligned, dealign, dealing