Etymologically
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presidential

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 00:11. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˌprez.ɪˈden.ʃəl/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Medieval Latin praesidentiālis,[2][3] from praesidentia “the office of a president, presidency”,[2][3] from Latin praesidēns (“presiding”), the present participle of praesidēre “to preside”.[2] It is related to president and preside.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of or relating to a president or his office: 1603 in the OED,[4] about 1600 in Etymonline.[2]

Semantic evolution

Presiding, of the nature of a president, is from 1650.[4] Befitting a president of the United States is by 1793.[2] In British India it was used of the presidencies, the former provinces of Bengal, Madras and Bombay (1857).[4] A presidential system, with a president elected separately from the legislature, and presidential election are later uses.[5][6]

Timeline

  • 1603 – of a president.[4]
  • 1650 – presiding.[4]
  • 1793 – befitting a United States president.[2]
  • 1857 – of the Indian presidencies.[4]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Of or relating to a president or the office of president: a presidential election.
  2. Fitting for a president, especially the President of the United States.
  3. Of a political system in which the head of government is a president elected separately from the legislature.

Word family

  • presidentially
  • prepresidential
  • unpresidential
  • nonpresidential
  • postpresidential

Usage notes

In British English the stress can shift before a noun, as in presidential suite.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g 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 c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  6. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins