chairperson
[ chair-pur-suhn ]
/ ˈtʃɛərˌpɜr sən /
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noun
a person who presides over a meeting, committee, board, etc.
the administrative head of a department in a high school, college, or university.
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Let’s start with some etymology: What are the origins of the typographical word “bracket”?
First appeared around 1750, and is related to the French word “braguette” for the name of codpiece armor.
First appeared in 1610, based on the French word “baguette” for the long loaf of bread.
First appeared in 1555, and is related to the French word “raquette” for a netted bat.
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Origin of chairperson
First recorded in 1970–75; chair(man) + -person
usage note for chairperson
Chairperson has, since the 1960s, come to be used widely as an alternative to either chairman or chairwoman. This change was motivated largely by a desire to avoid chairman, which was felt to be inappropriate and even sexually discriminatory when applied to a woman. Chairperson is standard in all varieties of speech and writing.
Despite such widespread acceptance, some organizations and publications do not use chairperson at all, usually on the grounds that it is awkward and that chairman is a well-established generic term. Many style guides advocate use of the term chair to designate the presiding officer, thus avoiding charges of both sexism and awkwardness: Jim will be chair of the entertainment committee this year, and Jane will be chair next year. See also -man, -person, -woman.
Despite such widespread acceptance, some organizations and publications do not use chairperson at all, usually on the grounds that it is awkward and that chairman is a well-established generic term. Many style guides advocate use of the term chair to designate the presiding officer, thus avoiding charges of both sexism and awkwardness: Jim will be chair of the entertainment committee this year, and Jane will be chair next year. See also -man, -person, -woman.
OTHER WORDS FROM chairperson
chair·per·son·ship, nounWORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH chairperson
chair, chairman, chairperson , chairwomanWords nearby chairperson
chairlady, chairlift, chairman, chairman of the board, chairmanship, chairperson, chair rail, chair table, chair warmer, chairwoman, chaise
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
Example sentences from the Web for chairperson
British Dictionary definitions for chairperson
undefined chairperson
See chairman
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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