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• numpty n. a stupid person, an idiot
• greet v. weep, cry, lament; complain; grumble
• preses n. the person who presides at a meeting etc; spokesperson, leader
• Doric n. the variety of Scots spoken in the North-East, esp. Aberdeen; the Scots language

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preses n. the person who presides at a meeting etc; spokesperson, leader

“preses n. the person who presides at a meeting etc; spokesperson, leader”

11th June 2007

Preses, which typically rhymes with 'fleeces', is one of the many Scots words that we often take for granted, not realising that its heritage is Scottish. This is also the case for other words that are generally accepted in formal use, particularly those connected with law or government such as provost and procurator fiscal. Other Scots words that we generally associate with informal speech tend not to be treated with the same respect, though with growing confidence, this may change.

The word preses is derived from Latin praeses, 'president, chief, guardian', and has been recorded in Scottish sources since the seventeenth century. R. Sibbald's History and Description of Stirlingshire (1707) informs us that 'The Dean of Guild is always Praeses of the Town Council of Stirling; which is contrary to the Custom of other Towns, wherein the Provost is always President'. More recently, preses has sometimes been used to denote the chair of the Board of Managers in the United Presbyterian Church or its descendants in the Church of Scotland. And at the present time, the word can also be found in North America, as this quotation from a 2003 edition of the University Wire, Pennsylvania, demonstrates: 'We're awarded a Scientiae or Artium Baccalaureus by the praeses, decanus and sigilli custos of the universitas, as stated on our diploma'.

Preses came to my attention recently when a reader inquired as to the 'correct' form of the plural. Although seventeenth-century records show use of an unchanged plural, 'preses', our modern quotations rarely illustrate plural usage, so some more research is needed to determine current practice. It is the task of lexicographers, after all, to ensure that dictionaries reflect the language as it is used, so please contact us if you have evidence of either 'preses' used as a plural, or any alternative plural form.