leading

== 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. Synonym: polar (literary) Ranking first. Occurring in advance; preceding. Antonyms: following, lagging, trailing ===== Coordinate terms ===== (occurring in advance): concurrent, lagging ===== Derived terms ===== ===== 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. ===== Derived terms ===== === 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