president

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   The elected head of state in a republic, such as the United States.

   The president gave a speech to the nation last night.

2. 2
   noun

   The person in charge of a company, club, or organization.

   She was elected president of the student council.

3. 3
   noun

   A person who leads or chairs a meeting.

   The president of the committee opened the discussion.

Common collocations

• acting president Adjective + noun
• current president Adjective + noun
• former president Adjective + noun
• appoint a president Verb + noun
• elect a president Verb + noun
• outgoing president Adjective + noun
• impeach a president Verb + noun

From Old French president, from Latin praesidēns (“presiding over; president, leader”) (accusative: praesidentem). The Latin word is the substantivized present active participle of the verb praesideō (“preside over”). The verb is composed from prae (“before”) and sedeō (“sit”). The original meaning of the verb is 'to sit before' in the sense of presiding at a meeting. A secondary meaning of the verb is 'to command, to govern'. So praesidēns means 'the presiding one on a meeting' or 'governor, commander'.

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