Meanings
leadsman1
leadsman2
plural leadsmen
- nauticalA 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
Origin
leadsman · noun
- Middle Englishledes-man“a military commander”, “a general”
- Englishleadsman
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.
More words from Middle English
Full word history & related roots →leadsman · noun
From (genitive form of) lead (“heavy metal; Pb”) + man.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Hebrew אִישׁ חֶבֶל הָאֲנָךְ
- אִישׁ חֶבֶל הָאֲנָךְ (ísh khével ha'anákh)Seaman taking soundings with a hand lead
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
leadsman. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/leadsman
“leadsman.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/leadsman. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “leadsman,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/leadsman.
Source: leadsman on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.