ˈchairperson
[f. chair n.1 + person n., after chairman, etc.: see person n. 2 f.]
A chairman or chairwoman: usu. intended as an alternative that avoids sexual definition. Cf. chair n. 9 b.
| 1971, etc. [see person n. 2 f]. 1977 Maledicta I. 39 Send a flyer to appropriate chairpersons for departmental announcements. 1980 Amer. Speech LV. 129 In Great Britain..any revision of gender has stopped with the half-hearted use of chairperson. 1984 S. Townsend Growing Pains A. Mole 80 Dear Chairperson, Arthur, it is with the deepest regret that I offer my resignation as vice-chairperson of the Elm Ward Labour Party. |
Hence ˈchairpersonship = chairmanship.
| 1982 Nature 9 Dec. 550/1 On the more general aspects of the arriviste's upward trajectory, however, such as the craft of..chairpersonship, he has much less to say. 1983 Listener 14 Apr. 43/1 The panel consisted of the distinguished authors Nina Bawden, Elizabeth Jane Howard, under the ‘chairpersonship’ of the equally distinguished Maureen Duffy. |