preside

Etymology

From Old French presider, from Latin praesidēre (“preside”), from pre- (“before”) + sedere (“to sit”). Displaced Old English foresittan, which might have been a calque of the Latin.

verb

1. (intransitive) To act as president or chairperson.
2. (intransitive) To exercise authority or control.
   When all this was sailed through, there still remained the toolroom—a most efficient department presided over by a quiet man who was an expert on astronomy as well as jigs, tools and fixtures. 1944 September and October, A Former Pupil, “Some Memories of Crewe Works—I”, in Railway Magazine, page 283
3. (intransitive, music) To be a featured solo performer.