Compère

Word of the Day for Monday, August 27, 2012

Compère \KOM-pair\, noun:

1. A host, master of ceremonies, or the like, especially of a stage revue or television program.

verb:
1. To act as compère for: to compère the new game show.

Just then, the compère got up on the stage and picked up the microphone. "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen…"
-- Kenneth Turpin, Nosy

Then a tall, sidling young man appeared and, after some confusion with the compère, unceremoniously proposed to drink a pint of brown ale without at any point using his hands…
-- Martin Amis, Heavy Water

Compère literally means "godfather" in French. It entered English in the 1730s.

Thanks to: www.dictionary.com