reader

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /ˈriː.də/, US /ˈriː.dɚ/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English redere, inherited from Old English rǣdere (“one who counsels; one who reads aloud; scholar; interpreter”),^[2][3][4] an agent noun formed from Old English rǣdan + -ere (see read and -er).^[2][3][5] Dutch raden “adviser” and Old High German rātāri “counsellor” are comparable;^[2] the Old English feminine was rǣdistre.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

One who reads aloud, especially one appointed to read in church: about 961 in the OED.^[6] One who reads or peruses is from about 1050, and an interpreter of dreams from before 1100, a sense lost after Middle English.^[6][5]

Semantic evolution

A teacher who reads and expounds texts to students is from 1519,^[6] which led to the title, in some British universities, of a lecturer of the highest grade below professor,^[5][7] and in the Inns of Court a lecturer on law (1517), now an honorary office.^[6] A proofreader is from 1808 and a publisher's reader of manuscripts from 1829.^[6] A book of passages for practice in reading, a school reader, is by 1789.^[2][5] In criminals' slang a reader was a pocketbook in the early 18th century, and later a marked card.^[5] In Scotland a reader was also a preacher who read his sermon.^[8]

Timeline

• c. 961 – one who reads aloud.^[6]
• c. 1050 – one who reads.^[6]
• 1517 – a lecturer at the Inns of Court.^[6]
• 1519 – a teacher, lecturer.^[6]
• 1789 – a reading book.^[2]
• 1808 – a proofreader.^[6]
• 1829 – a publisher's reader.^[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A person who reads, or who is fond of reading.
2. A person employed by a publisher to read and judge manuscripts.
3. In some British universities, a lecturer ranking just below a professor.
4. A book of texts for learning to read, or an anthology.
5. A person authorized to read lessons in church; a lay reader.
6. A device that reads data stored on cards, tape or other media.

Word family

• readerly
• readership

Related words

• read
• reading
• riddle
• rede

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c d e Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
8. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)