president

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'.

noun

1. The head of state of a republic.
   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. 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
   […] to change the pattern of the last 220 years of only voting for a white male president, and elect a woman president […] 2007, Benjamin Camins, Hillary Is the Best Choice, Page 144
   The vast majority of presidents have been male.
2. In presidential republics, the head of government and head of state.
3. 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.
4. A person presiding over a meeting; a chair, presiding officer, presider.
   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,[…] 1803, Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution
5. Obsolete form of precedent.

adj

1. (archaic) Occupying the first rank or chief place; having the highest authority; presiding.

verb

1. To act as president; to do presidential duties.