preside
/pɹɪˈzaɪd/ verb
Forms presides presiding presided præside
- verb (intransitive) To act as president or chairperson.
- verb (intransitive) To exercise authority or control.
- verb (intransitive, music) To be a featured solo performer. “I’ll preside at the organ.”
Synonyms
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.
Webster’s 1913
- verb To be set, or to sit, in the place of authority; to occupy the place of president, chairman, moderator, director, etc.; to direct, control, and regulate, as chief officer; as, to preside at a public meeting; to preside over the senate.
- verb To exercise superintendence; to watch over.
Etymology [L. praesidere; prae before + sedere to sit: cf. F. présider. See Sit.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “preside”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details