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. The verb is composed from prae and sedeō. 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'.
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