Definition: President
Etymology
From Old French president, from Latin praesidÄ“ns (“presiding over; president, leaderâ€) (accusative: praesidentem). The Latin word is the substantivized present active participle of the verb praesideÅ (“preside overâ€). The verb is composed from prae (“beforeâ€) and sedeÅ (“sitâ€). The original meaning of the verb is 'to sit before' in the sense of presiding at a meeting. A secondary meaning of the verb is 'to command, to govern'. So praesidÄ“ns means 'the presiding one on a meeting' or 'governor, commander'.
Noun
president (plural presidents)
- The head of state of a republic
- The majority of presidents have been male.
- In presidential republics, the head of government and head of state.
- The primary leader of a corporation. Not to be confused with CEO, which is a related but separate position that is sometimes held by a different person.
- A person presiding over a meeting; a chair, presiding officer.
Derived terms
- ex-president
- president-elect
- presidential
- vice president
Credits
New World Encyclopedia writers and editors copied and adjusted this Wiktionary entry in accordance with NWE standards. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit for this article is due to both New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To cite this article click here for a list acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions at Wiktionary is accessible to researchers here:
