presidente

Forms

presidente m or (nonstandard, uncommon) f (plural presidentes, feminine presidenta, feminine plural presidentas)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin praesidēns (“presiding; a governor”), the present participle of praesideō (“to sit in front, watch over, preside”).^[2][1][3] The Latin verb is formed from prae- (“before”) and sedeō (“to sit”).^[4][1] The simple verb goes back to *sedēō and the root Proto-Indo-European *sed- (“to sit”), which is also the source of the English word sit.^[1]

The DLE describes the noun as presidir with the suffix -nte, the old present participle of the verb,^[5] but Corominas dates the noun to 1495 and the verb only to 1607, so the noun was borrowed before the verb.^[2][6] The same Latin word is French président and Italian presidente.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Old Spanish Textual Archive has the word in a text of 1345, and the DEMel lists it in Pero López de Ayala's Rimado de Palacio of about 1385.^[8][9] Covarrubias in 1611 glosses it as “the one who presides” and says it was used above all for the heads of the royal councils and the chancery courts.^[10]

Semantic evolution

The first records in the Americas are about the colonial courts: presidente del audiencia de México in 1535, and the president of the audiencia of Guatemala in 1550.^[11] The Diccionario de Autoridades gave the general sense “one who presides over a council, court or board”, and also the governor of a Roman province, the deputy of the superior in some religious orders, and the master who sat in the chair at a student's academic exercise.^[12] Terreros added that el Presidente with no further word meant the president of the Council of Castile.^[7]

The political sense “head of state of a republic” is in the Academy's dictionary of 1884, and in the main entry of 1899.^[13][14] Today the word names the head of any government, council, court or company, and in republics the head of state, usually elected for a fixed term.^[2][15] In Mexico presidente municipal is the mayor.^[2] The Dominican Republic uses presidente for a beer, after the brand name, and Guatemalan slang uses it as a euphemism for a prisoner.^[16]

Timeline

• 1345 – the earliest of 253 occurrences in the Old Spanish Textual Archive.^[8]
• c. 1385 – Pero López de Ayala uses the word in the Rimado de Palacio.^[9]
• 1495 – the date Corominas gives for presidente and for presidencia.^[6]
• 1535 – the president of the audiencia of Mexico, the first record in the Americas.^[11]
• 1607 – first record of the verb presidir.^[6]
• 1611 – Covarrubias explains it as the title of the heads of the councils and chancery courts.^[10]
• 1726–1739 – the Diccionario de Autoridades records the Roman provincial governor and the religious sense.^[12]
• 1884 – the Academy adds the sense “holder of supreme executive power in a republic”.^[13]

Meanings

Noun

1. A president or chairperson: the person who presides over a government, council, court, board, society or meeting: La presidenta abrió la sesión a las diez.^[2][15][1]
2. In a republic (república), the head of state, normally elected for a fixed term.^[2][1]
3. (history) In ancient Rome, the governor (gobernador) and judge of a province.^[2][12]
4. (religion) In some religious orders, the deputy of the prelate (prelado).^[2]
5. (historical) The master who sat in the chair to assist a student performing a formal academic exercise.^[2][15]
6. (feminine, colloquial) presidenta: the wife of the president.^[2][17]
7. (Dominican Republic, popular) A beer.^[16]

Adjective

1. (rare) Presiding: el juez presidente.^[2][15]

Word family

• expresidente
• vicepresidente
• presidencia

Related words

• presidencial
• presidir
• presidio
• Latin praesideō
• French président

Usage notes

The feminine is presidenta;^[2][1] Wiktionary also notes the uncommon use of la presidente.^[2][1] The sense “wife of the president” for presidenta is colloquial and falling out of use.^[2][17] Set phrases include presidente del Gobierno and presidente de la República.^[15]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Real Academia Española; Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española (2014–), Diccionario de la lengua española, 23rd ed., online version 23.8, https://dle.rae.es, p. s.v. presidente
3. ^ Gómez de Silva, Guido (1988), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua española, México: Fondo de Cultura Económica / El Colegio de México, p. 567
4. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ Real Academia Española (2001), Diccionario de la lengua española, 22nd ed., Madrid: Espasa-Calpe, p. s.v. presidente
6. ^ a b c Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. presidir
7. ^ a b Terreros y Pando, Esteban de (1786–1793), Diccionario castellano con las voces de ciencias y artes y sus correspondientes de las tres lenguas francesa, latina e italiana, 4 vols., Madrid: Viuda de Ibarra, p. 3, 205
8. ^ a b Hispanic Seminary of Medieval Studies (2026), Old Spanish Textual Archive (OSTA): semi-paleographic transcriptions of Old Spanish texts, ed. Francisco Gago Jover et al., https://www.hispanicseminary.org
9. ^ a b Diccionario del Español Medieval electrónico (DEMel), data publication 2026 (CC BY-SA), Universität Rostock, p. s.v. presidente
10. ^ a b Covarrubias Orozco, Sebastián de (1611), Tesoro de la lengua castellana o española, Madrid: Luis Sánchez (Biblioteca Wordkers transcription, CC BY 4.0), p. 1228
11. ^ a b Boyd-Bowman, Peter (2003), Léxico hispanoamericano 1493–1993, ed. Ray Harris-Northall and John J. Nitti, New York: Hispanic Seminary of Medieval Studies, p. s.v. presidente
12. ^ a b c Real Academia Española (1726–1739), Diccionario de la lengua castellana (Diccionario de Autoridades), 6 vols., Madrid: Francisco del Hierro, p. 5, 365
13. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1884), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 12th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de D. Gregorio Hernando (the first Academy edition with etymologies), p. 1118
14. ^ Real Academia Española (1899), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 13th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de los Sres. Hernando y Compañía, p. 808
15. ^ a b c d e Moliner, María (2007), Diccionario de uso del español, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. presidente
16. ^ a b Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española (2010), Diccionario de americanismos, Lima: Santillana; online at https://www.asale.org/damer, p. s.v. presidente
17. ^ a b Battaner Arias, Paz (dir.) (2017), Diccionario general de la lengua española VOX, Barcelona: Larousse Editorial, p. s.v. presidente