preceptor
/ˈpɹiˌsɛp.tɚ/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.29 in modern English
15
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
3
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
The head of a preceptory of Knights Templar.
Example Sentences
- "A man who had thought so much on the subjects of language and education was surely no ordinary preceptor."
- "When a youth of twelve years, - since, as Solomon says, "The root of learning is bitter, although the fruit is sweet - and following his literary pursuits, in order to avoid the discipline and frequent stripes inflicted on him by his preceptor, he ran away, and concealed himself under the hollow bank of a river[.]"
- "We shall resume our studies later on; but just now I am tired of playing the preceptor; and the eager thirst of my pupils for improvement does not console me for the slowness of their progress."
- "Near-synonyms: mentor, professor"
Etymology
From Middle English preceptor, preceptur, from Latin praeceptor (“commander; instructor”), from the verb praecipiō + -or (“-er: forming agent nouns”), from prae- (“pre-, fore-: before”) + capiō (“to take; to get, to take in, to understand”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: *keh₂p-, preceptor, praeceptor
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈpɹiˌsɛp.tɚ/
- British English: /pɹɪˈsɛp.tə/
Usage
- American usage