Lectors

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A person or entity that reads aloud or delivers a written text to an audience
2. An individual assigned to read passages during a religious service or gathering
3. A title used in some academic settings for those responsible for delivering lectures or educational material

Etymology: "Lectors" is the plural of "lector," a word that has been in English since the Middle Ages and that traces back to the Latin verb "legere," meaning "to read." The Latin noun "lector" was simply "a reader," and it passed into Middle English in forms such as "lector" and "lectour" before settling into its modern spelling. Its close relatives are "lecture" and "lecturer," which entered English through Old French from the same Latin source, so the three words are doublets: one Latin root that reached English twice, once as a formal title and once as a term for spoken instruction. In the Catholic and some Anglican churches, a lector is the person who reads the scripture passages aloud during a service, which keeps the word's original sense of reading intact. The plural "lectors" simply refers to several such readers at once, or to the people holding that office in a parish.

Synonyms: readers, reciters, announcers