Didacts

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Intended to teach a moral lesson, often in an overly preachy or lecturing manner
2. Tending to instruct others about morals or behavior in a heavy-handed, sermonizing way
3. Describing writing or speech that aims to instruct and moralize rather than entertain

Etymology: "Didacts" is the plural of "didact," a noun for a teacher, usually one whose lessons are heavy with moral instruction. The word comes from Ancient Greek "didaktos," meaning "taught" or "teachable," the past-participle adjective of the verb "didaskein," "to teach." The same root gives English "didactic," which describes writing or speech meant chiefly to instruct. The sense of the word has drifted toward the sanctimonious. Its original Greek idea was neutral, simply something that could be taught, but in English it came to describe the teacher who cannot resist lecturing, the one who turns every example into a lesson about virtue. The plural form, "didacts," is used when speaking of several such figures at once.

Synonyms: pedagogue, instructor, preceptor, lecturer