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lector

[lek-ter]
noun
  1. a lecturer in a college or university.
  2. Roman Catholic Church.
    1. a member of the next to lowest-ranking of the minor orders.
    2. the order itself.Compare acolyte(def 2), exorcist(def 2), ostiary(def 1).
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Origin of lector

1425–75; late Middle English < Latin: a reader, equivalent to leg(ere) to read + -tor -tor
Related formslec·tor·ate [lek-ter-it, -tuh-reyt] /ˈlɛk tər ɪt, -təˌreɪt/, lec·tor·ship, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
British Dictionary definitions for lectorate

lector

noun
  1. a lecturer or reader in certain universities
  2. RC Church
    1. a person appointed to read lessons at certain services
    2. (in convents or monastic establishments) a member of the community appointed to read aloud during meals
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Derived Formslectorate (ˈlɛktərɪt) or lectorship, noun

Word Origin

C15: from Latin, from legere to read
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for lectorate

lector

n.

late 14c., "reader, a cleric in one of the minor orders," from Late Latin lector "reader," agent noun from Latin legere "to read" (see lecture (n.)). Related: Lectorship.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper