rector
Americannoun
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a member of the clergy in charge of a parish in the Protestant Episcopal Church.
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Roman Catholic Church. an ecclesiastic in charge of a college, religious house, or congregation.
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Anglican Church. a member of the clergy who has the charge of a parish with full possession of all its rights, tithes, etc.
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the head of certain universities, colleges, and schools.
noun
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Church of England a clergyman in charge of a parish in which, as its incumbent, he would formerly have been entitled to the whole of the tithes Compare vicar
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RC Church a cleric in charge of a college, religious house, or congregation
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Episcopal Church Scottish Episcopal Church a clergyman in charge of a parish
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the head of certain schools or colleges
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(in Scotland) a high-ranking official in a university: now a public figure elected for three years by the students
Other Word Forms
- rectorate noun
- rectorial adjective
- rectorship noun
- subrector noun
Etymology
Origin of rector
1350–1400; Middle English rectour < Latin rēctor helmsman, ruler, leader, equivalent to reg ( ere ) to rule + -tor -tor
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Her father was the rector of two parishes and ran a small boys’ school to supplement the family’s meager income.
From Los Angeles Times
At Holy Trinity in Guildford the rector, Simon Butler, is pushing ahead with his stand-alone blessings out of frustration with the bishops' recent announcement.
From BBC
One involves Isaac Poobalan, rector of St Andrew's Cathedral in Aberdeen, who said he felt like "a dead man walking" because he believes Bishop Dyer tried to drive him out.
From BBC
"After political parties, media and NGOs, universities must be put under pressure," says Nina Doborjginidze, rector of Ilia State University.
From BBC
Veselina Goranova, vice rector for Education, says their students' home countries include Greece, Turkey, Italy, Germany, Canada, the US – but added the biggest group by far, "about 40% come from the UK".
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
