president
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈpɹɛzɪdənt/
rhymes: -ɛzɪdənt
Forms: form: presidents
form: President
form: praesident
form: præsident
Etymology: 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'.
Senses: examples: text: The vast majority of presidents have been male.
text: Well, nobody else can make a decision but me because I was the President and the final decision comes to the President, you know. I used to have a sign on my desk that said, "The Buck Stops Here." The buck stops at the president's desk when he's president of the United States, and he either makes the decisions or he lets them go by default, and you can't afford to do that when you're president.
ref: 1965, Harry S. Truman, 0:20 from the start, in MP2002-401 Former President Truman Discusses "The Buck Stops Here", Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives Identifier: 595162:
text: […] to change the pattern of the last 220 years of only voting for a white male president, and elect a woman president […]
ref: 2007, Benjamin Camins, Hillary Is the Best Choice, Page 144
text: The call, which is the first known conversation between the presidents since Trump assumed office last month, came as as^([sic]) Trump makes clear to his advisers he wants to bring the Ukraine conflict to a swift end. […] The last US president to visit Russia was Barack Obama in 2013, when he attended a G20 summit.
ref: 2025 February 12, Kaitlan Collins and Kevin Liptak, “After Putin call, Trump says negotiations to end Ukraine war will start ‘immediately’”, in CNN:
glosses: The head of state of a republic.
glosses: In presidential republics, the head of government and head of state.
glosses: Primary leader of a corporation. Not to be confused with CEO, which is a related but separate position that is sometimes held by a different person.
examples: text: The President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates and the votes shall then be counted;
The person having the greatest number of votes for President, shall be the President,[…]
ref: 1803, Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution:
glosses: A person presiding over a meeting; a chair, presiding officer, presider.
examples: text: The thirſt of raigne and ſweetnes of a crowne,
That cauſd the eldeſt ſonne of heauenly Ops,
To thruſt his doting father from his chaire,
And place himſelfe in the Emperiall heauen,
Moou’d me to menage armes againſt thy ſtate.
What better preſident than mightie Ioue?
ref: c. 1587–1588 (date written), [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire; London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act II, scene vii:
glosses: Obsolete form of precedent.
Synonyms: sense: American head of state
word: POTUS
sense: head of a college or university
word: provost
sense: head of various specific bodies
word: prepositus
word: prexy
word: prez
Derived terms: dead president
ex-president
minister-president
municipal president
president-elect
presidenthood
presidential
President Musk
president pro tempore
President Roxas
vice-president
vice president
who died and made you president