rectoria

Forms

rēctōria f (genitive rēctōriae); first declension^[1]

Etymology

It is a Medieval Latin formation from Latin rēctor (“ruler, governor”) + -ia.^[2][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler takes its first record from Niermeyer, perhaps from 1141,^[1] and Niermeyer's first sense is the office of a governor.^[3]

Semantic evolution

Like rector itself, it followed the different offices that the word named: the governorship of a city or province, the charge of a parish church, and the rectorship of a university.^[3][1] In British records it names the benefice held by a rector, as distinct from a vicarage, and for the house belonging to it, the rectory.^[2] English rectory comes from it or from French rectorie.^[4]

Timeline

• 1141? – First record, according to Köbler from Niermeyer.^[1]
• 1271 – English records use it for a rector's benefice.^[2]
• 1365 – A London record uses it for a rector's house.^[2]
• mid-15th century – English borrows it as rectorie, a rector's benefice.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. The office of a governor, governorship.^[3][1]
2. The charge of a parish church; a benefice held by a rector.^[3][2]
3. The rectorship of a university.^[3][1]
4. A rector's house, a rectory.^[2]

Related words

• English rectory

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
2. ^ a b c d e f 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
3. ^ a b c d e Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
4. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com