Sentence:  Commenting on the earlier stage , the Notre Dame Chapter of the American Association of University Professors ( in a recent report on the question of faculty participation in administrative decision-making ) noted that the term `` teacher-employee '' ( as opposed to , e. g. , `` maintenance employee '' ) <WSD>was</WSD> a not inapt description . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun)