rector Latin · revision 31080

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=81–43 BC, Cicero|origins=ine-pro *h₃reǵ-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * Classical: [ˈreːk.tɔr]^(Wiktionary)

+ * Ecclesiastical: [ˈrɛk.tor]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''rēctor''' ''m'' (genitive rēctōris, feminine rēctrīx); third declension^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is formed [[af|la|regō|-tor|t1=to guide, rule]].^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary)^(Etymonline) De Vaan traces ⟨regō⟩ to [[itc-pro|*rege/o-]] and [[ine-pro|*h₃reǵ-e/o-|t=to stretch, direct]], and compares [[sga|a·t·raig|t=stands up]] and [[sa|ऋञ्जति|tr=ṛñjati|t=to stretch, direct oneself]]; the long ⟨ē⟩ of the participle ⟨rēctus⟩, on which the noun is built, is due to Lachmann's law.^(de Vaan 2008)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ De Vaan and Köbler give Cicero as its first author.^(de Vaan 2008)^(Köbler 2010) In ''On Divination'' he speaks of “so many helmsmen of ships” (''tot nāvium rēctōrēs'').^(OLD 2012)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ It is the helmsman of a ship, then the rider or driver of animals (Sallust) and a guide for the blind.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879) More widely it is a person in charge of others or of a field of activity, the ruler or director of a state, as Cicero's leader of the commonwealth, the supreme god as ruler of all, a commander in war (Livy), and a tutor or guide of the young, as the leaders Aeneas sets over the young men in Virgil.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+

+ In medieval Latin a ''rēctor'' was a duke ruling a province, the mayor of the palace, a royal official, a bishop or abbot in charge of a church, the priest in charge of a lesser church, or the steward of church estates.^(Niermeyer 1976) English took it over as [[m|en|rector]] in the late 14th century, first for a ruler, and by the early 15th century for the head of a college or religious community.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 81–43 BC – Cicero of helmsmen and of the ruler of the state.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 86–34 BC – Sallust of riders.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 70–19 BC – Virgil of tutors.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 59 BC–17 AD – Livy of a commander.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * late 14th century – English [[m|en|rector]], a ruler.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|helmsman]].^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+ # A rider or driver (of animals); a guide.^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A person in charge, a director, manager.^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A [[m|en|ruler]], governor (of a state); the supreme god; a military commander.^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary)^(Stelten 1995)

+ # A [[m|en|tutor]], guide (of the young).^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(Medieval Latin)'' A duke; a royal official; the mayor of the palace.^(Niermeyer 1976)

+ # ''(Medieval Latin)'' A bishop or abbot; a priest in charge of a church; a steward of church estates.^(Niermeyer 1976)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[regō]]

+ * [[rēx]]

+ * [[gubernātor]]

+ * [[en|rector]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}