president English · revision 2025

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=before 1382 (Wycliffe Bible)|origins=la sedēre}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈprez.ɪ.dənt/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|president]], [[bor|fro|president]] and directly from [[la|praesidēns|t=president, governor]] (stem [[m|la|praesident-]]),^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) the noun use of the present participle of [[m|la|praesidēre|t=to preside, govern, guard]],^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002)^(MWU 2024) from [[m|la|prae|t=before]] and [[m|la|sedēre|t=to sit]].^(Cresswell 2021)^(NODE 1998) Merriam-Webster gives the route through Anglo-French.^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A person who presides, a chief officer: before 1382, in the Wycliffe Bible.^(Barnhart 1988) In the late 14th century it also meant a ruler, especially one with judicial powers.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Middle English already used it for the heads of religious houses, hospitals, almshouses and colleges;^(Etymonline) the head of a college is a ''president'' from 1448.^(Barnhart 1988)^(HTOED) It also meant the governor of a province or colony.^(SOED 2002) In America the chief officer of a colony was a president in Virginia in 1608,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) and the presiding officer of the Continental Congress in 1774.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) In their constitutions of 1776 Delaware, New Hampshire and South Carolina called their chief magistrates presidents, but later went back to ''governor''.^(Etymonline) From the presiding officer the title passed to the chief executive of the republic in the Constitution of 1787,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) though Word Origins dates this sense to 1784.^(Cresswell 2021) The head of a learned society has been a president since 1660,^(Barnhart 1988) and of a bank since 1781.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) ''Presidency'' is from 1591,^(Barnhart 1988) ''presidentess'' from 1763 and the slang ''prez'' from 1883.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 1382 – one who presides (Wycliffe Bible).^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1448 – head of a college.^(Barnhart 1988)^(HTOED)

+ * 1591 – ''presidency''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1608 – chief officer of an American colony.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1660 – head of a learned society.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1774 – presiding officer of the Continental Congress.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1781 – head of a bank.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1787 – chief executive of the United States.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1883 – ''prez''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A person chosen to [[preside]] over a meeting, assembly or organized body.^(AHD)

+ # The chief executive of a [[republic]], and in particular of the United States.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # The chief officer of a [[corporation]], university, board or similar body.^(AHD)^(HTOED)

+ # ''(historical)'' The governor of a province or colony.^(SOED 2002)^(HTOED)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[presidentship]]

+ * [[presidential]]

+ * [[presidentially]]

+ * [[ex-president]]

+ * [[president-elect]]

+ * [[president pro tempore]]

+ * [[president pro tem]]

+ * [[Presidents' Day]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[preside]]

+ * [[presidency]]

+ * [[resident]]

+ * [[sedentary]]

+ * [[sit]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}