prezidentka

Prezidentka is the feminine form of the title president in Czech and Slovak. It designates a woman who holds the office of president. The base term prezident comes from the French president and Latin praesidens; the feminine form is prezidentka in these languages, created with the common Czech/Slovak feminine suffix -ka. The word is used in media, speech, and official contexts when referring to female presidents, though usage varies.

In Czech, some style guides prefer to use the masculine form for both genders or to avoid gendered titles in formal documents, while others advocate using prezidentka to reflect the gender of the officeholder. In Slovak, prezidentka is widely accepted and used in both journalism and public discourse, though there is still discussion about style and neutrality.

Notable examples include Zuzana Čaputová, president of Slovakia since 2019. In the Czech Republic, there has not yet been a female president, so the term is primarily encountered in reference to foreign leaders or in discussions of hypothetical or historical cases. The concept of gendered titles extends to other languages; for instance Ukrainian uses президентка (Prezidentka) or other languages with feminine forms.

Overall, prezidentka functions as a practical gendered title for a female head of state in Czech and Slovak, reflecting broader patterns of gendered nouns in Slavic languages and evolving norms about gender representation in political language.

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