Presided

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To lead or chair a meeting, event, or formal gathering, directing its progress and proceedings
2. To hold authority in charge of a ceremony or assembly, managing its course and ensuring order
3. To oversee or conduct a formal occasion by guiding discussions or decisions as the person in charge

Etymology: "Presided" is the past tense of "preside", which comes from the Latin "praesidēre", literally "to sit before". The Latin root joins "prae" ("before") with "sedēre" ("to sit"), the same stem that gives English "sedentary" and "session". Sitting in front of an assembly was the physical sign of authority: the one seated at the front was the one in charge. The word reached English by way of Old French "presider". English already had its own term for the idea, the Old English "foresittan", which may have been modelled on the Latin, but the French-derived verb displaced it. The result is that a modern chairperson at a meeting is still doing, in the most literal sense, what the Latin word described: sitting at the front.

Synonyms: led, controlled

Antonyms: followed