- the hero of a German folk legend, popularized in The Pied Piper of Hamelin (1842) by Robert Browning.
- a person who induces others to follow or imitate them, especially by means of false or extravagant promises.
- (in German legend) a piper who rid the town of Hamelin of rats by luring them away with his music and then, when he was not paid for his services, lured away its children
- a person who entices others to follow him
