lector
/ˈlɛktə(ɹ)/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.15 in modern English
8
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A lay person who reads aloud certain religious texts in a church service.
noun
A public lecturer or reader at some universities.
noun
A person who reads aloud to workers to entertain them, appointed by a trade union.
American usage
noun
A person doing voice-over translation of foreign films, especially in Eastern European countries.
verb
To do a voice-over translation of a film.
Example Sentences
- "Its lyrical, poetic flights seem much more at home in the romantic musings of two sisters competing for the attention of the new, handsome lector, a man hired to read stories to workers in a Florida cigar factory, who might otherwise be mesmerized by the repetitive boredom of their jobs."
- "The Hungarian viewer of The Colbert Report wants to experience authentic American comedy, and the lector—like an interpreter performing chuchotage at a high-level meeting of heads of state—serves primarily as a check on the viewer's grasp of the real thing."
- "How much of Colbert's political satire can be truly grasped by a Hungarian viewer of a lectored episode is slightly beside the point: something gets through."
Etymology
From Middle English lector, lectoure, lectour, from Late Latin lēctor, from legō (“to read”). “Voice-over” sense probably adapted from Polish lektor. Doublet of lecture and lecturer.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: *leǵ-, lector, lēctor
Usage
- American usage