Chair (?), n. [OE. chaiere,
chaere, OF. chaiere, chaere, F.
chaire pulpit, fr. L. cathedra chair, armchair, a
teacher's or professor's chair, Gr. &?; down + &?; seat, &?; to
sit, akin to E. sit. See Sit, and cf.
Cathedral, chaise.]
1. A movable single seat with a
back.
2. An official seat, as of a chief
magistrate or a judge, but esp. that of a professor; hence, the
office itself.
The chair of a philosophical school.
Whewell.
A chair of philology.
M. Arnold.
3. The presiding officer of an assembly;
a chairman; as, to address the chair.
4. A vehicle for one person; either a
sedan borne upon poles, or two-wheeled carriage, drawn by one
horse; a gig. Shak.
Think what an equipage thou hast in air,
And view with scorn two pages and a chair.
Pope.
5. An iron block used on railways to
support the rails and secure them to the sleepers.
Chair days, days of repose and age.
-- To put into the chair, to elect as
president, or as chairman of a meeting. Macaulay. --
To take the chair, to assume the position
of president, or of chairman of a meeting.
Chair, v. t. [imp. & p.
pr. Chaired (?); p. pr. & vb.
n. Chairing.] 1. To place
in a chair.
2. To carry publicly in a chair in
triumph. [Eng.]
