Etymologically
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presidency

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 13:23. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈpɹɛzɪdənsi/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Medieval Latin praesidentia (“office of a president”),[2][3][4] from Latin praesidens, president, governor (see president), from praesidēre (“to sit before, preside”).[2][4] SOED also compares Spanish and Portuguese presidencia and Italian presidenza.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The office of a president, superintendence: 1591 in the OED, the 1590s in Etymonline;[6][2] MWU dates a sense to 1581.[3] Earlier were presidentship (1520s) and presidence (about 1500).[2]

Semantic evolution

A president's term of office is from the 1610s.[2] A superior or leading position is an obsolete sense of 1608.[6] In British India, each of the three divisions of the East India Company's territory was a presidency, from 1698.[6][2] Among the Mormons the First Presidency is the board of presiding officers.[6]

Timeline

  • c. 1500 – presidence.[2]
  • 1591 – the office of president.[6]
  • 1610s – a president's term.[2]
  • 1698 – an Indian presidency.[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The office or position of a president.
  2. The period during which a president holds office.
  3. (historical) Each of the three administrative divisions of British India.

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press