Crossword Genius

The French article and the German article? (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

leader

'article?' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'the french article and the german' is the wordplay.
'the french' becomes 'le'.
'article' becomes 'a' (indefinite article).
'and' says to put letters next to each other.
'the german' becomes 'der' ('the' in German).
'le'+'a'+'der'='LEADER'

(Other definitions for leader that I've seen before include "Head, guide" , "important member of orchestra" , "One inspires or guides others" , "Chief or front man" , "Party head" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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