figurehead
figurehead Lexical Profile
figurehead Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A nominal leader or head of a state, organization, or movement who holds an official title or public prominence but exercises little or no actual authority.
"In a modern constitutional monarchy, the sovereign largely serves as a ceremonial figurehead while parliament governs the country."
A carved wooden bust or full-length statue mounted as an ornament at the prow of a traditional sailing ship.
"The maritime museum restored the gilded wooden figurehead recovered from the nineteenth-century clipper ship."
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Coined in the mid-18th century as a nautical compound of 'figure' and 'head' (referring to the bow or forepart of a ship); the figurative sense of a nominal leader without real power emerged in the late 19th century, comparing such a person to the ornamental carving at the front of a vessel.