Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “chairperson” come from?

Chairperson derives from Middle English persoun and Old French chaiere, which comes from Latin cathedra, ultimately from Ancient Greek καθέδρα, meaning a seat or throne.

chairperson (English): A chairman or chairwoman, someone who presides...

Definitions

  1. A chairman or chairwoman, someone who presides...

Ancestry of “chairperson”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishchairAn item of furniture used to sit on or in,...
2EnglishChucka Chuck Taylor All-Stars shoe
3EnglishchockAny object used as a wedge or filler, especially...
4Frenchchoquerto hit, to collide; to shock
5Germanschockieren—
6Spanishchocarto crash; to bump into, to collide with; to...
7Portuguesechocarto brood; to hatch; to linger
8Russianшоки́ровать—
9Russian-и́ровать—
10German-ierenVerb suffix: it and its inflected forms are found...
11French-erForms infinitives of first-conjugation verbs
12English-erA person or thing that does an action indicated...
13Middle English-eragentive suffix; agent noun suffix
14Old French-erAlternative form of -ier, verbal suffix;...
15Latin-āre—
16Proto-Italic-āōForms primarily denominative verbs
17Proto-Indo-European-eh₂yétiCreates iterative/ frequentative/ intensive...
18Proto-Indo-European-yétiCreates intransitive, often deponent,...

Words derived from “chairperson”

  • chairpersonship
  • cochairperson
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -yéti →