figurehead
pronunciation
How to pronounce figurehead in British English:
UK [ˈfɪɡəhed]
How to pronounce figurehead in American English:
US [ˈfɪɡjərhed]
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- Noun:
- a person used as a cover for some questionable activity
- figure on the bow of some sailing vessels
Word Origin
- figurehead (n.)
- also figure-head, 1765, from figure (n.) + head (n.). The ornament on the projecting part of the head of a ship, immediately under the bowsprit; sense of "leader without real authority" is first attested 1868. You may say that the king is still head of the State, and that this is a sufficient basis for loyal feeling; certainly, if he were really so, and not a mere ornamented figure-head on the ship of state. [James Hadley, "Essays Philological and Critical," London, 1873]
Example
- 1. Its weak figurehead , mr hariri 's son saad , lives in paris for his own safety .
- 2. Christian was essentially a figurehead , useful for public display and dismissed by the powers in his court .
- 3. In destroying mossadeq ( who died in internal exile in 1967 ) , the shah robbed liberal iranians of their natural figurehead .
- 4. Even some senior officials now say he is a mere figurehead .
- 5. The president is just a figurehead ; it 's the party leader who has the real power .