A Lecture Was Originally a Reading Aloud
A lecture is a talk given to teach. The Latin root means reading, because that is literally what medieval lecturers did.
A lecture is a formal talk to an audience, usually to teach. The name records a vanished practice. Before printing, books were scarce, so a teacher read the text aloud while students copied it: *lectura* means a reading. The talking came later, and the word stayed. The second sense, a telling-off, is much less welcome.
- A formal educational talk. *A lecture on Roman law.*
- A long scolding. *I got a lecture about the noise.*
- To give a lecture. *She lectures in physics.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | lecture | An evening lecture. |
| Verb | lecture | He lectures on Fridays. |
| Person | lecturer | A senior lecturer. |
| Noun | lectureship | A lectureship in history. |
| Related | lectern | Behind the lectern. |
How it is used in a sentence
- The lecture starts at four in the main hall.The teaching sense.
- Do not lecture me about punctuality.The scolding sense, always resented.
- She lectures at two universities.Lecture in a subject, at a place.
The reading family
- Lecture — a reading aloud, then a talk
- Lectern — the stand it was read from
- Legible — able to be read
- Legend — originally what must be read
- Lesson — from the same root, a reading in church
From Medieval Latin *lectura*, a reading, from *legere*, to read or gather. The same verb gives *collect*, *select*, *elect* and *intelligent*.
Lecture or lesson?
A lecture is delivered to an audience, usually without much interaction. A lesson is smaller and involves the learners directly.
Why does lecture also mean to scold?
Because moral lectures were once a genre of their own, and the tone survived after the content changed.