Bellwether
ˈbɛlˌwɛðər
noun
a person or thing that assumes the leadership or forefront, as of a profession or industry
The term 'bellwether' originally referred to a castrated ram (a wether) that wore a bell around its neck and led the flock of sheep. In a figurative sense, it now signifies a leader or indicator that others follow or imitate.
See how Friedrich Nietzsche and Henry David Thoreau use "bellwether", with its meaning, pronunciation and real book examples.
Examples from books
In cases, however, where it is believed that the leader and bellwether cannot be dispensed with, attempt after attempt is made nowadays to replace commanders by the summing together of clever gregarious men: all representative constitutions, for example, are of this origin.
Friedrich Nietzsche
Beyond Good and Evil
When the old bellwether at the head rattles his bell, the mountains do indeed skip like rams and the little hills like lambs.
Henry David Thoreau
Walden
