leadsman

noun — 2 senses

leadsman

noun

UK /ˈliːdz.mən/

Etymology From Middle English ledes-man (“a military commander”, “a general”); equivalent to leads (the genitive form of lead: “a leading”, “a directing”, “a guiding”) + man.

Obsolete lodesman (a leader or guide)

leadsman

noun

UK /ˈlɛdzmən/

Etymology From (genitive form of) lead (“heavy metal; Pb”) + man.

Nautical, Transport A sailor who takes soundings with a lead, measuring the depth of water.

In the same moment the leadsman hove the lead, and, finding it directly take the ground, he, in his fright, called out, ‘There's only three fathom.’1808–10, William Hickey, Memoirs of a Georgian Rake, Folio Society 1995, p. 205

Related terms: swing the lead, throw the lead

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.