bellwether

[underused]

bellwether
something that leads or indicates a trend

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The above definition is the sense of bellwether we know best. It's because we're not familiar with its literal definition that it's often mis-heard (or misspelled) as "bellweather."

A "wether" is (or rather was) a castrated ram. Shepherds in Olde Tymes used them to lead their sheep, fitting them with a bell to help keep track of both wether and flock.

According to Michael Quinion at World Wide Words, "by the fifteenth century, it was... a contemptuous term for a leader whom only sheep would follow, especially one who possessed a loud mouth but little judgement."

It's a fairly neutral term now--though it's always worth examining what sorts of bells we heed. ☺

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