# president

Pronunciation: say "PREZ-i-duhnt" /ˈpɹɛzɪdənt/

## Noun

1. The head of state of a republic; in some countries, such as the United States, also the head of the government.
   - Simple: The leader of a country that has no king or queen.
   - _The president addressed the nation after the election results were confirmed._
   - _Many republics elect a new president every four to six years._
2. The person voted or appointed to lead an organization such as a club, a society, a union or a university.
   - Simple: The person chosen to lead a club, group, union, college or university.
   - _The union's president urged members to reject the latest contract offer._
   - _After twenty years on the faculty, she was named president of the university._
3. A senior executive who leads a corporation, often its highest officer, though in some firms ranking below a separate chief executive officer.
   - Simple: A top boss who leads a company, sometimes ranking below the CEO.
   - _The president of the company announced record profits at the shareholder meeting._
   - _She was promoted to president after years in the marketing division._
4. A person who presides over a meeting, also called the chair or presiding officer.
   - Simple: The person who leads a meeting and keeps it in order.
   - _As president of the session, she opened the debate, recognized speakers in turn, and ruled on every point of order._
   - _The delegates elected a president for the three-day convention, whose only job was to keep the debates orderly and call each vote._

## Verb

5. To serve as president and carry out the duties that belong to a president.
   - Simple: To act as a president and do the work a president does.

## Adjective

6. Occupying the first rank or chief place and holding the highest authority. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: Holding the highest rank or the main place of power.

## Origin

From Old French president, from Latin praesidēns ('presiding over; leader'), the present participle of the verb praesideō ('preside over'). That verb combines prae ('before') and sedeō ('sit'), so it originally meant 'to sit before' in the sense of presiding at a meeting, with a secondary sense of 'to command, to govern'. Thus praesidēns meant 'the one presiding at a meeting' or 'governor, commander'.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/president (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).