the.com/chairman
The one who runs the room by virtue of owning the biggest chair.
means The person who presides over a meeting, board, or organization, directing its proceedings and holding authority over its decisions.
from A plain compound of "chair" and "man," dating to the 17th century. The "chair" itself had long stood for a seat of authority — think of a professor's chair or a bishop's — so the one who occupied it became the "chairman." The word "chair" comes through Old French "chaiere" from Latin "cathedra," a seat, the same root that gives us "cathedral," the church that houses a bishop's seat. So the chairman is, quite literally, the one in the seat that matters.
- literal origin
- Named for the seat, not the skill
- gavel power
- A tiny hammer ends million-dollar arguments
- board ritual
- Often sits without running daily operations
- gendered relic
- Chairperson and chair now dodge the 'man'
mao zedong — chairman of the chinese communist party from 1935-1976
alan greenspan — chairman of the federal reserve from 1987-2006
warren buffett — chairman and ceo of berkshire hathaway since 1983