Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Chair \Chair\, n. [OE. chaiere, chaere, OF. chaiere, chaere, F.
   chaire pulpit, fr. L. cathedra chair, armchair, a teacher's
   or professor's chair, Gr. ? down + ? seat, ? to sit, akin to
   E. sit. See {Sit}, and cf. {Cathedral}, {chaise}.]
   1. A movable single seat with a back.

   2. An official seat, as of a chief magistrate or a judge, but
      esp. that of a professor; hence, the office itself.

            The chair of a philosophical school.  --Whewell.

            A chair of philology.                 --M. Arnold.

   3. The presiding officer of an assembly; a chairman; as, to
      address the chair.

   4. A vehicle for one person; either a sedan borne upon poles,
      or two-wheeled carriage, drawn by one horse; a gig.
      --Shak.

            Think what an equipage thou hast in air, And view
            with scorn two pages and a chair.     --Pope.

   5. An iron block used on railways to support the rails and
      secure them to the sleepers.

   {Chair days}, days of repose and age.

   {To put into the chair}, to elect as president, or as
      chairman of a meeting. --Macaulay.

   {To take the chair}, to assume the position of president, or
      of chairman of a meeting.