presidency English · revision 7278

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1581|origins=la praesideo}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈpɹɛzɪdənsi/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la-med|praesidentia|t=office of a president]],^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)^(NODE 1998) from Latin praesidens, president, governor (see [[president]]), from [[m|la|praesideo|alt=praesidēre|t=to sit before, preside]].^(Etymonline)^(NODE 1998) SOED also compares Spanish and Portuguese presidencia and Italian presidenza.^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The office of a president, superintendence: 1591 in the OED, the 1590s in Etymonline;^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) MWU dates a sense to 1581.^(MWU 2024) Earlier were presidentship (1520s) and presidence (about 1500).^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ A president's term of office is from the 1610s.^(Etymonline) A superior or leading position is an obsolete sense of 1608.^(OED 1989) In British India, each of the three divisions of the East India Company's territory was a presidency, from 1698.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) Among the Mormons the First Presidency is the board of presiding officers.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1500 – presidence.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1591 – the office of president.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1610s – a president's term.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1698 – an Indian presidency.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The office or position of a [[president]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The period during which a president holds office.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(historical)'' Each of the three administrative divisions of British India.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[president]]

+ * [[preside]]

+ * [[presidential]]

+ * [[sit]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}