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reader

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 04:10. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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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

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)