\Ring"lead`er\, n.
1. The leader of a circle of dancers; hence, the leader of a
   number of persons acting together; the leader of a herd of
   animals.
         A primacy of order, such an one as the ringleader
         hath in a dance.                      --Barrow.
2. Opprobriously, a leader of a body of men engaged in the
   violation of law or in an illegal enterprise, as rioters,
   mutineers, or the like.
         The ringleaders were apprehended, tried, fined, and
         imprisoned.                           --Macaulay.