Rectorie

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An archaic term for the residence or ecclesiastical living held by a rector of a parish church
2. Refers to the house, and the church income attached to it, provided for a parish's rector
3. The old name for the parsonage or clerical office that a parish priest held and lived in

Etymology: "Rectorie" is the Middle English spelling of a word for the house or benefice of a rector, the clergyman who held the living of a parish. It came into English from Anglo-Norman or Old French "rectorie," itself built from Medieval Latin "rectoria," the office or territory of a "rector." The Latin "rector" meant "ruler" or "governor," from "regere," "to rule," so the parish priest was, in the original sense, the one who ruled the parish. The Middle English form reflects the Anglo-Norman spelling and sound, and the word was used both for the church office and for the property attached to it. Over time the term narrowed toward the physical residence, the house where the rector lived, which is the sense the modern "rectory" keeps.