Lecture
/ˈlɛk.tʃər/noun
A formal talk or lesson given to an audience.
Did you know?Lecture comes from Latin *lectura*, “a reading,” from *legere*, a root that also gave English words tied to choosing, gathering, and reading—because in the ancient world, to read was to *pick out* meaning.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*leg-
“to gather, pick out, choose”
Latin
Latin
legere
“to gather, pick out, read”
Latin
Latin
lectura
“a reading; something read aloud”
Old French
Old French
lecture
“a reading; a lesson or discourse”
Middle English
English
lecture
“a reading aloud; a formal discourse”
Modern English
English
lecture
“a formal talk or lesson given to an audience”