lectura

Forms

lectura f (genitive lecturae); first declension^[1][2]

Etymology

It is from Latin legō² (“to gather; to read”) + -tūra, formed on the stem of the past participle ⟨lēctus⟩.^[3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's earliest source is Palladius, at the end of the 4th or beginning of the 5th century.^[3]

Semantic evolution

In Medieval Latin it was the act of reading, especially reading aloud: the reading of a letter or of a commission, and in the church the reading done by a lector.^[1][5] From this it meant study and learning,^[2] the ability to read, in which a newly elected abbot was examined in 1341 together with singing and law,^[5] and at the universities the formal reading of and lecturing on set texts.^[1] A written commentary on the law, which grew out of such lectures, was also a lectura: a will of 1329 leaves the testator's Lectura of Hostiensis to a friend.^[5][2]

In British sources it also meant the act of gathering and what was gathered, straw or litter.^[1] English took over the word about 1300 as lecture, at first for written works.^[4]

Timeline

• end of 4th or beginning of 5th century AD – Palladius uses it.^[3]
• c. 1300 – Borrowed into English as lecture.^[4]
• 1329 – A will names a legal commentary a lectura.^[5]
• 1341 – An abbot-elect is examined in lectura, the ability to read.^[5]
• 1420 – An account uses it for straw.^[1]

Meanings

Noun

1. (Medieval Latin) reading, especially reading aloud; a reading in church.^[1][2][5]
2. (Medieval Latin) Study, learning; the ability to read.^[2][5]
3. (Medieval Latin) A university lecture on a set text.^[1]
4. (Medieval Latin) A legal commentary.^[2][5]
5. (Medieval Latin) Gathering; straw, litter.^[1]

Related words

• lēctiō
• lēctor
• legenda
• English lecture

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
3. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e f g h du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre