Presidency
nounThe office of a president, or the period during which someone holds that office.
How to spell presidency
10 letters · 4 syllables
How to pronounce presidency
Say the part in capitals loudest.
What does presidency mean?
- nounThe office of a president, or the period during which someone holds that office.
Presidency in a sentence
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She announced her campaign for the presidency in a televised address.
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Unemployment fell sharply during his presidency.
Where does presidency come from?
Language of origin: Latin
This word traces back to the Latin verb praesidere, meaning 'to sit in front of' or 'to guard', formed from prae 'before' and sedere 'to sit'. Someone who sat at the front of an assembly was effectively in charge, so praesidere came to mean 'to preside over' or 'to govern'. From the related noun praesidentia, meaning the act of presiding or protection, English developed 'president' and then 'presidency' to name the office itself. The word arrived in English in the early seventeenth century, gaining its political weight especially after the United States created an elected presidency in the late 1700s. The buried sedere root is the same 'sit' that surfaces in 'sediment', 'session' and 'reside', which is a useful reminder that the middle of the word is spelled -sid- and not -sed-.
How the word is built
- pre- (before)
- sid (from Latin sedere, to sit)
- -ency (noun suffix denoting office or state)
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