figurehead means A carved figure on the prow of a sailing ship. It carries an Arena rating of 1438, earned across 8 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, figurehead ranks #373 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #551 of 17,142 for Most Ingenious Words, #662 of 17,138 for Most Incisive Words, #1,670 of 17,127 for Most Vivid Words.
figurehead is pronounced /ˈfɪɡjəɹˌhɛd/.
Why “figurehead” is a great word
A person who holds a title or office of leadership but has little to no actual power or authority. From figure + head, literally meaning a carved figure on a ship's prow; the figurative sense of a nominal leader is first attested in 1868. Unlike a puppet, who is animated by hidden strings, or a leader, who commands genuine influence, a figurehead is a vessel of pure symbol, legitimate in title yet absent in substance. It is the sovereign who signs but does not draft, the president whose name adorns the letterhead while deputies run the firm, the revolutionary hero installed and promptly ignored by the generals—the dignity of position without the burden of decision, a human ornament as frozen and forward-facing as the wooden sailor on the prow, forever braving the spray but never steering the course.
Etymology
From figure + head.
noun
- A carved figure on the prow of a sailing ship.
- Someone in a nominal position of leadership who has little to no actual power.e.g.“Evidently he did not mean to be a mere figurehead, but to carry on the old tradition of Wilsthorpe's; and that was considered to be a good thing in itself and an augury for future prosperity.” — 1928, Lawrence R. Bourne, chapter 2, in Well Tackled!:
- A person's face.e.g.“HATCHET. Bring up, I say, or I'll spoil your figurehead. [Lifting his cudgel]” — 1829, Douglas Jerrold, Black-Eyed Susan; or, All in the Downs:
verb
- To lead (something) nominally and with little to no actual power.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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