chair of state
- noun
- Formal
:
silla de estado
- The queen sat elegantly in the chair of state during the grand ceremony.
Examples
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During the inauguration, the president took their place in the ornate chair of state designed for the occasion.
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The ambassador was honored to be invited to sit in the historic chair of state at the conference.
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"Well, my child, you must tell me how you did it," the bishop said, seated on his great chair of state while Master Giles helped his son kneel, kiss the ring, and rise again.
Fiction book (2000)
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is compositionally built from 'chair' and 'state' with the possessive/relationship signaled by 'of', so a learner who knows the words can infer it is a chair associated with the state or state officials. However, the specialized sense emphasizing a ceremonial, formally reserved seat for a sovereign or high dignitary (and the cultural nuance of ceremony) is not fully predictable from the constituents, making it only partially transparent.
Etymology
Chair of state comes from the literal image of a special chair used at official ceremonies by the state's ruler. Sitting in that chair showed a person's 'authority' and 'high rank', so the phrase means the ceremonial seat reserved for a ruler or other important person.
