noun
conductor
the person who leads a musical group
Where it comes from
Conductor comes through French from Latin conductor, an agent noun connected with conducere, to lead or bring together, formed from con-, together, and ducere, to lead.
How the meaning developed
English first used conductor broadly for a guide or leader. The same role specialized in different domains: an orchestral conductor leads musicians together, a railway conductor manages a journey, and an electrical conductor carries energy onward.
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Sources
Definitions adapted from Open English WordNet where applicable. License and attribution. Word-history text comes from Lexifour’s sourced social research; pages are assembled automatically, not individually fact-checked on every update.
Updated 2026-09-25. Report a correction.