Dictionary entry

Conductor

Webster's Dictionary 1913

Con‐duct″or (kŏn‐dŭk″tẽr), n. 1. One who, or that which, conducts; a leader; a commander; a guide; a manager; a director.

Zeal, the blind conductor of the will.

Dryden.

2. One in charge of a public conveyance, as of a railroad train or a street car.

3. (Mus.) The leader or director of an orchestra or chorus.

4. (Physics) A substance or body capable of being a medium for the transmission of certain forces, esp. heat or electricity; specifically, a lightning rod.

5. (Surg.) A grooved sound or staff used for directing instruments, as lithontriptic forceps, etc.; a director.

6. (Arch.) Same as Leader.

Prime conductor(Elec.), the largest conductor of an electrical machine, serving to collect, accumulate, or retain the electricity.