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proctor

[prok-ter]
noun
  1. a person appointed to keep watch over students at examinations.
  2. an official charged with various duties, especially with the maintenance of good order.
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verb (used with or without object)
  1. to supervise or monitor.
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Origin of proctor

1350–1400; Middle English; contracted variant of procurator
Related formsproc·to·ri·al [prok-tawr-ee-uh l, -tohr-] /prɒkˈtɔr i əl, -ˈtoʊr-/, adjectiveproc·to·ri·al·ly, adverbproc·tor·ship, nounsub·proc·tor, nounsub·proc·to·ri·al, adjectivesub·proc·tor·ship, nounun·proc·tored, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for proctorship

Historical Examples

  • Under her proctorship the moral courage of her son had developed.

    Sergeant York And His People

    Sam Cowan

  • I sneaked out into the garden to wait for her, and felt that the burden of a Proctorship was really more than I could endure.

    Strange Stories

    Grant Allen

British Dictionary definitions for proctorship

proctor

noun
  1. a member of the teaching staff of any of certain universities having the duties of enforcing discipline
  2. US (in a college or university) a supervisor or monitor who invigilates examinations, enforces discipline, etc
  3. (formerly) an agent, esp one engaged to conduct another's case in a court
  4. (formerly) an agent employed to collect tithes
  5. Church of England one of the elected representatives of the clergy in Convocation and the General Synod
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verb
  1. (tr) US to invigilate (an examination)
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Derived Formsproctorial (prɒkˈtɔːrɪəl), adjectiveproctorially, adverb

Word Origin

C14: syncopated variant of procurator
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 proctorship

proctor

n.

late 14c., contraction of procurator (c.1300) "steward or manager of a household;" also "a provider" (see procurator). From late 14c. as "one who acts or speaks for another; spokesman, advocate;" early 15c. as "business manager or financial administrator of a church, college, holy order, etc."

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proctor

v.

1670s, from proctor (n.). Related: Proctored; proctoring.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper