Dictionary definition of “presidentiable”

presidentiable

n. a candidate for presidency. Subjects: English, French, France, Philippines, Politics

Etymological Note: The noun form of the word is probably separately derived in France and the Philippines from the adjective presidentiable ‘capable of being president.’ Such an adjective-to-noun conversion is more common in French and Spanish (from where the word was introduced into the Philippines) than it is in English. A similar word is papabile ‘suitable to be Pope.’

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Citations: 1985 Jeffrey Ulbrich @ Paris (AP) (Sept. 3) “French New Year Starts With All Eyes On Elections”: It has three “presidentiables” all looking down the road to 1988—former Premier Raymond Barre, the current front-runner, former President Valery Giscard d’Estaing, and Mayor Jacques Chirac of Paris. 1987 P.P. McGuiness Australian Financial Review (Mar. 19) “Chirac Takes The Fall For Setbacks During Cohabitation’s First Stanza” p. 12: If Mr Mitterrand is ruled out, there is a difficult problem for the Socialist Party. Its most popular “presidentiable” is Michel Rocard, who has little support in the higher echelons of the party. 1991 Michael Byrnes Australian Financial Review (14) (May 3) “Manila Hopefuls Begin Their Bids To Fill Aquino’s Shoes”: Santiago has scored highest of any “presidentiable” in opinion surveys (up to 50 per cent), with Estrada following close behind (around 40 per cent). 1992 Richard Gourlay Financial Times (London, England) (Feb. 17) “The Philippines; An appetite for tittle-tattle—Politics” p. I: When registration closed, the voters had choice of 78 presidential candidates—or “Presidentiables” as they are locally called—eight of whom were considered “serious” contenders. 1995 BusinessWorld (Philippines) (Sept. 7) “Shoptalk” p. 4: After almost six years, RAM leader and now neophyte Senator Gregorio “Gringo” Honasan finally got his long-standing wish to be part of a “successful” and bloodless coup d’etat—sa Senado nga lang. Mr. Honasan is reported to have had a big part in plotting the ouster of presidentiable Edgardo Angara as Senate headman. 2005 Beting Laygo Dolor Philippine News Online (Jan. 12) “Goodbye Sonny O?”: The word had not yet been coined then, but John appeared to be the most “presidentiable” of all the Osmeñas. He was good looking, intelligent and came from the right family. The rise in his political fortunes was temporarily derailed when Marcos declared martial law.

Posted 12 Jan 05 | Permalink | Tell a Friend