lecture

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈlɛk.t͡ʃə/ (UK); /ˈlɛk.t͡ʃɚ/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Old French lecture, and directly Medieval Latin lectura (“a reading”),^[2][3][4] from Latin lectus, past participle of legere (“to read”), originally to gather, pick out (see legend),^[3][2] from PIE Proto-Indo-European *leg- (“to collect, gather”).^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Literature, written works: probably before 1300, in Kyng Alisaunder;^[2] reading, learning from books, late 14th century.^[3][2]

Semantic evolution

The action of reading, or that which is read, is the OED's first sense (1398),^[5] and reading aloud, in worship or to students, is from the early 15th century.^[3] Trench notes that lecture and reading were once synonyms, and quotes Coverdale's after the lecture of the law and of the prophets (Acts 13:15).^[6] A discourse on a subject before an audience is from 1536, probably after Middle French (1498).^[2][5] A reproof is from about 1600, in Shakespeare's As You Like It.^[2][3] The verb, to give lectures, is from about 1590,^[2][7] and to scold, 1706.^[2][3]

Timeline

• before 1300 – literature.^[2]
• 1398 – the action of reading.^[5]
• 1536 – a discourse to an audience.^[2]
• c. 1590 – the verb.^[2]
• 1600 – a reprimand.^[2]
• 1706 – to scold.^[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A talk on a subject given to an audience or class, to instruct.
2. A long, earnest reprimand.

Verb

1. To give a lecture or lectures.
2. To reprove someone at length.

Word family

• lectureship
• lecturer
• curtain lecture

Related words

• analects
• lectern
• lection
• lesson
• legend
• read
• elect

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ Trench, Richard Chenevix (1859), A Select Glossary of English Words Used Formerly in Senses Different from Their Present, London: John W. Parker
7. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster