president

& a. [Fr., from Lat. præsidens, pr. par. of præsideo =to preside (q. v.); Sp., Port. & Ital. presidente.] A. As substantive : 1. One who is appointed to preside over and control the proceedings of a number of others; as, (1) The chairman or chief officer of a company, board, society, or office; as, the president of an insurance company, the president of the Board of Trade. (2) The chief officer of a college or university. (3) The chairman of a public meeting. (4) The highest officer of state in a republic; as, the President of the United States. The President of the United States is the chief executive of the government, and is, in power, literally an elected, uncrowned king. He is commander in-chief of the army and navy of the country, and has the nomination of most of the executive officers of the government, besides a large number of judicial and administrative functionaries. He is elected ber af reelections, although, in conformity with the for term of four years, and is eligible for any num precedent set by Gen. George Washington, no president has yet been elected more than twice. President Cleveland, up to date, is the only president who has ever been reëlected after an interregnum. The president has a veto power and unlimited pardoning prerogative as to offenders against national laws. His salary is $50,000 a year, and his residence, during his presidency, is the "White House" in Washington. He is elected by an electoral college, which in some contingencies makes the choice by states, and he may receive a minority of the popular vote and yet be legally chosen to the office. In case of his death or total disability the functions of the office devolve upon the vice-president, who is elected coincidently with the president, and is the presiding officer of the Senate. The following is the list of presidents up to the present: George Washington, 1789 and 1793; John Adams, 1797; Thomas Jefferson, 1801 and 1805; James Madison, 1809 and 1813; James Monroe, 1817 and 1821; John Quincy Adams, 1825; Andrew Jackson, 1829 and 1833; Martin Van Buren, 1837; William Henry Harrison (died April 4, 1841), 1841; John Tyler (elected as vice-president), 1841; James Knox Polk, 1845; Zachary Taylor (died July 9, 1850), 1849; Millard Fill more (elected as vice president), 1850; Franklin Pierce, 1853; James Buchanan, 1857: Abraham Lincoln (a a inated April 14, 1865), 1861 and 1865; Andrew Johnson (elected as vice-president), 1865; Uly es S. Grant, 1869 and 1873; Rutherford B. Hayes, 1877; James A. Garfield (died by a a ination September 19, 1881), 1881; Chester A. Arthur (elected as vice-president), 1881; Grover Cleveland, 1885; Benjamin H. Harrison, 1889; Grover Cleveland. 1893; William McKinley, 1897. *2. A protector, a guardian, a patron. "Just Apollo, president of verse." -Waller . ( Todd .) *B. As adj .: Presiding over or holding the first rank among others. ( Milton .) (1) Lord President : [LORD, 8.] (2) Lord President of the Council: One of the chief officers of state in England. He presides at the Privy Council, and is a member of the government, with whom he retires from office. (3) Vice - President : One who is second in authority to a president. marine; gō, pot, IMG:content-1495.png:[blocks in formation] *prě-şid-er, s. [Eng. presid (e); -er.] One who presides; a president. "The hospitable presider is never so happy as when surrounded by a large party of friends."-D. Powell: Living Authors , p. 192. *pre-sid-I-al, a . [Lat. præsidium =a garrison.] [PRESIDE.] Pertaining to a garrison; having a garrison. "There are three presidial castles in this city."- How ell: Letters, bk i., § i., let. 39. *pre-sid-i-ar-ỹ, a. & s. [PRESIDIAL.] A. As adj .: Presidial, garrisoned. "Having near upon fifty presidiary walled towns in their hands."-Howell: Letters , bk. i., § ii., let. 25. B. As subst.: A guard. "One of those heavenly presidiaries ."-Hall: Contemp.; Elisha and the A yrians. *pres-i-die, s . [PRESIDIAL.] A garrison; a fortified town or place; a fortre . "Seigniour Renzio shall lie in a presidie."-For: Martyrs, p. 905. *pre-sig-ni-fi-ca-tion, s. [Pref. pre- , and Eng. signification (q. v.).] 1. The act of signifying or showing beforehand. "Some pre signification or prediction." -Barrow : Sermons, vol. ii., ser. 9. IMG:content-1496.png:[blocks in formation] pre-sphe-ndid, pre-sphe-noid, adj. [Pref. pre-, præ-, and Eng. sphenoid.] Comp . Anat .: A term applied to the centrum of the third cranial segment, corresponding to the front part of the sphenoid bone in man.