praesidens

Forms

praesidēns m (genitive praesidentis); third declension^[1][2]

Etymology

It is from Latin praesideō (“to preside over, govern”), its present participle used as a noun.^[3][4][5] The verb is formed from prae- (“before, in front”) and sedeō (“to sit”).^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Velleius Paterculus has it with a dative, praesidens urbi, for the governor of the city.^[7] As a plain noun it appears in Tacitus, who speaks in the Annals (3.40) of the superbia praesidentium, the arrogance of the provincial governors.^[4][3][1]

Semantic evolution

In Late Latin it stood for praeses, the governor of a province, in the Theodosian Code,^[8] and a glossary explains it as iudex, judge.^[9] Medieval Latin used it for the head of a body: the presidents of the Parlement of Paris in an edict of King John of France of 1355, a dignitary of cathedral chapters equal to a dean or provost (Council of Mexico, 1585), and the chief visitor of a monastic congregation.^[8] In Poland it meant the head or chairman of a body, such as a synod.^[10] Köbler records Old High German glosses for it, and a feminine use for a prioress.^[5] It is the source of French président and German Präsident,^[5] and of Italian presidente.^[4]

Timeline

• c. 20 BC–30 AD – Velleius Paterculus uses praesidens urbi of the governor of the city.^[7][5]
• 98–115 AD – Tacitus uses the plural as a noun for provincial governors.^[4][3][5]
• 438 AD – The Theodosian Code uses it for the governor of a province.^[8][5]
• 1355 – An edict of King John of France names the presidents of the Parlement.^[8]
• 1585 – The Council of Mexico uses it for a dignitary of a cathedral chapter.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. One who presides; a governor of a province, a ruler.^[3][4][1][2]
2. (Late Latin) A judge.^[9]
3. (Medieval Latin) A president, the head or chairman of an assembly or court.^[8][10]
4. (Medieval Latin) A dignitary of a cathedral chapter, equal to a dean or provost.^[8]
5. (Medieval Latin) The chief visitor of a monastic congregation.^[8]

Related words

• praesideō
• praeses
• praesidium
• English president

References

1. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T. (1890), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: American Book Company
2. ^ a b Simpson, D. P. (1959), Cassell's New Latin Dictionary, London: Cassell
3. ^ a b c d Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
4. ^ a b c d e Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
5. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b VoLat: Vocabolario della Lingua Latina (2018), Milan: Hoepli
8. ^ a b c d e f g h du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre
9. ^ a b Goetz, Georg (1888–1923), Corpus glossariorum Latinorum, Leipzig: Teubner; vols. VI–VII Thesaurus glossarum emendatarum, digital ed. CGLO, Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
10. ^ a b Lexicon mediae et infimae Latinitatis Polonorum (1953–), Kraków: Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN; electronic ed. elexicon.scriptores.pl