1. A person who reads aloud certain of the scriptural passages used in a church service.
2. A public lecturer or reader in certain universities.

[Middle English, from Late Latin lēctor, from Latin, reader, from lēctus, past participle of legere, to read. See lecture.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.