Ringleader

Easton’s Bible Dictionary & Webster’s 1828 Dictionary · Matthew George Easton, Noah Webster

Ringleader - (Webster's 1828 Dictionary)

RING'LEADER, n. [ring and leader.] The leader of any association of men engaged in violating of law or an illegal enterprise, as rioters, mutineers and the like. this name is derived from the practice which men associating to oppose law have sometimes adopted, of signing their names to articles of agreement in a ring, that no one of their number might be distinguished as the leader.

In other dictionaries

Read “Ringleader” in the 2 dictionaries

RingleaderInternational Standard Bible Encyclopedia

Source of the article

Matthew George Easton, Easton’s Bible Dictionary; Noah Webster, American Dictionary of the English Language (1828)

Bible Strong combined digital edition