led captain

noun

An obsequious sidekick

“January 8 1733, Jonathan Swift, letter to Lady Betty Germain Mr. Pope (with whom I lived) and Mr. Gay were then great favourites of Mrs. Howard, especially the latter, who was then one of her led-captains.”

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Meanings

nounled captain (plural led captains)

plural led captains

  1. obsoleteAn obsequious sidekick

    January 8 1733, Jonathan Swift, letter to Lady Betty Germain Mr. Pope (with whom I lived) and Mr. Gay were then great favourites of Mrs. Howard, especially the latter, who was then one of her led-captains.

    1 more example

    We hardly ſee a poor Peer, or a debilitated Knight, without his Toad-eater and Led-Captain; a Thing devoted to ſmile when he ſmiles, laugh loud when he does, and entertain his gueſts by ſubmitting himself to be the butt and jeſt of his keeper.

    1777, The Laughing Philosopher
Cite this entry
APA

led captain. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/led%20captain

MLA

“led captain.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/led%20captain. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “led captain,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/led%20captain.

Source: led captain on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.