What does chairwomen mean?
Chairwomen is the irregular plural of chairwoman, a noun for a woman who leads or presides over a meeting, committee, board, or other formal body. Its “-women” ending reflects a traditional English pattern in which the vowel in woman changes when the noun is pluralized, while the shared base chair identifies the person’s role. In current professional and institutional writing, chairwomen is used when the participants’ gender is relevant or specifically intended, as in reports that distinguish women from men holding comparable leadership positions. In many organizations, however, the gender-neutral plural chairs or chairpersons is preferred, especially where a mixed-gender group is being described. Chairwomen therefore sounds formal and broadly established rather than unusual, although it conveys the same explicit gender distinction as chairwoman. Its historical interest lies in preserving an old irregular formation that survives in a modern vocabulary increasingly oriented toward neutral titles.
nounPlural form of chairwoman: women who lead or preside over a meeting, committee, board, or other formal body.
- Women who serve as chairs or preside over meetings, committees, boards, conferences, or other formal bodies.
"The two chairwomen opened the conference by welcoming the delegates."
"The two chairwomen opened the conference by welcoming the delegates."
"The organization appointed two chairwomen to its governing board."
The standard irregular plural of chairwoman, formed by changing the vowel in woman to e and adding n rather than by adding -s.
"The delegates elected three chairwomen to represent the regional branches."
Chairwomen is where the old “man to men” rule meets a modern equality drive: woman becomes women, even in a job title.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of chairwomen
Chairwomen combines the nouns chair and woman. Chair entered English through Old French chaiere from Latin cathedra, which was borrowed from Greek kathēdra, meaning “seat,” while woman descends from Old English wīmann, historically formed from wīf, “wife,” and mann, “person.” The gendered compound chairwoman developed by the 19th century, and chairwomen preserves the older irregular plural pattern.
Related word forms
How chairwomen is actually used
Chairwomen is standard when women’s identity is explicitly relevant or intended. In many professional and institutional settings, the gender-neutral plural chairs or chairpersons is preferred, especially when referring to a mixed-gender group.
Easily confused with chairwomen
Chairwoman is the singular form, whereas chairwomen is the irregular plural used for more than one woman.