English Online Dictionary. What means leading? What does leading mean?
English
Etymology 1
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.
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈliːdɪŋ/
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈlidɪŋ/
- Rhymes: -iːdɪŋ
- Hyphenation: lead‧ing
Verb
leading
- present participle and gerund of lead
Adjective
leading (not comparable)
- Providing guidance or direction.
- Ranking first.
- Occurring in advance; preceding.
- Antonyms: following, lagging, trailing
Coordinate terms
- (occurring in advance): concurrent, lagging
Derived terms
- leading indicator
- leading woman
Translations
Etymology 2
From Middle English leding, ledyng, ledinge, ledunge, equivalent to lead + -ing. Cognate with Dutch leiding (“conduit, leading, guidance, leadership”), German Leitung (“line, conduit, cable”).
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈliːdɪŋ/
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈlidɪŋ/
- Rhymes: -iːdɪŋ
- Hyphenation: lead‧ing
Noun
leading (plural leadings)
- An act by which one is led or guided.
- (archaic) Command of an army or military unit.
Etymology 3
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.
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA(key): /ˈlɛdɪŋ/
- Rhymes: -ɛdɪŋ
- Hyphenation: lead‧ing
Noun
leading (uncountable)
- (typography) Vertical space added between lines; line spacing.
- Hypernym: white space
Translations
Further reading
- leading on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
Anagrams
- Negidal, adeling, aligned, dealign, dealing, diangle, lagenid, leidang