English
chairman
Origin unknown. Chairman is a compound of chair + -man. See Wiktionary.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *mon- ‘man, human being’
through Proto-Germanic *mann- ‘human, human being, person, individual’
men, mankind, mannequin, munchkin, mensch, shipman, mannish, 13 more
through Proto-West Germanic *mann ‘person, human, individual’
through Old English mann ‘person’
Today it means
noun A person presiding over a meeting, sometimes especially a man. (Compare chairwoman, chairperson, chair.)
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “chairman”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / chairman