bear leader

or bear-leader


noun
  1. (formerly) a tutor traveling with a wealthy or aristocratic young man.

Origin of bear leader

1
First recorded in 1740–50

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use bear leader in a sentence

  • The fellow with hair like squirrel's fur—the little King's bear leader, whom you kept prisoner.

    Caesar and Cleopatra | George Bernard Shaw
  • I have neither spirits nor inclination for turning bear-leader, and it is not a position I wish to undertake.

    Magnum Bonum | Charlotte M. Yonge
  • The bear-leader made signs to the people to be quiet, as he had something to say to them.

    The Man-Wolf and Other Tales | Emile Erckmann and Alexandre Chatrian
  • I have been not unknown as a scholar, and yet forced to live by turning bear-leader, and teaching a boy to spell.

  • I asked of my companion—a most bright and amusing Eton boy—to whom I was playing bear leader.

    Border Ghost Stories | Howard Pease