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Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
lectern
noun
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ Aziz and Baker didn't count: they were dehumanised bit-players who stood in front of lecterns.
▪ Corbett bowed towards Lady Amelia, stepped from the lectern and walked quietly out of the church.
▪ Daley turned purple and pounded his fist on the lecterns when he later denied the rumor.
▪ Do not bring numerous volumes to the lectern.
▪ That way, you can see if you clutch the lectern or keep your hands too stiffly at your side.
▪ The lectern at the Guildhall is a classic example of one that looks beautiful but is too small and fragile to use.
▪ The privileged sign in at a large book attached by a thin chain to a sort of lectern.
▪ They grip the lectern, their knees knock, and they sweat profusely as they try to get their point across.
The Collaborative International Dictionary
lectern

Lecturn \Lec"turn\ (l[e^]k"t[u^]rn), n. [LL. lectrinum, fr. lectrum; cf. L. legere, lectum, to read.] Same as lectern. [Written also lectern and lettern.]
--Fairholt.

Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
lectern

early 14c., lettorne, lettron, from Old French letron, from Medieval Latin lectrinum, from Late Latin lectrum "lectern," from root of Latin legere "to read" (see lecture (n.)). Half-re-Latinized in English in 15c.

Wiktionary
lectern

n. 1 A stand with a slanted top used to support a bible from which passages are read during a church service. 2 A similar stand to support a lecturer's notes.

WordNet
lectern

n. desk or stand with a slanted top used to hold a text at the proper height for a lecturer [syn: reading desk]

Wikipedia
Lectern

A lectern (from the Latin lectus, past participle of legere, "to read") is a reading desk, with a slanted top, usually placed on a stand or affixed to some other form of support, on which documents or books are placed as support for reading aloud, as in a scripture reading, lecture, or sermon. To facilitate eye-contact and improve posture when facing an audience, lecterns may have adjustable height and slant. People generally use lecterns while standing.

In pre-modern usage, the word lectern was used to refer specifically to the "reading desk or stand ... from which the Scripture lessons (lectiones) ... are chanted or read." One 1905 dictionary states that "the term is properly applied only to the class mentioned [church book stands] as independent of the pulpit." By the 1920s, however, the term was being used in a broader sense, for example, in reference to a memorial service in Carnegie Hall, it was stated that "the lectern from which the speakers talked was enveloped in black."

Usage examples of "lectern".

Clio pushed her way forward enough to see Hocking approach a lectern that was just now rising from the floor.

A hooded chair occupied the center of the room, and beside it was a chest-high lectern whose face displayed a number of toggles and knurled wheels.

The chantor broke off his song and stared, and their Rebbe stood open-mouthed at his lectern.

She set the thali down on the raised wooden lectern, gently extinguishing the diyas.

He was a workmanlike but not a charismatic speaker, reading with level intonation from the autocue on the transparent lectern in front of him, and punching up the relevant slides at the relevant moments.

The prehensile feathertips touched one of the keys on the lectern, and a section of New Republic criminal law appeared on the display above his head.

He said something to the projectionist, who nodded and took over the task while Jao strode to the lectern.

I remembered the fatigued faces of a missionary and two priests, the books piled up on the lectern, the flames of the tallow candles by which the debaters traced texts in the heavy folios to back up their arguments, the flushed faces of the schismatists and the church conformists who met with much vociferation every sound objection to their views.

They needed a representative, the Institute needed exposure, and voila, Brandywine arrives at the lectern.

As soon as the last note died, the instructor rapped a pointer down on the lectern.

She rose from her chair and went to the lectern placed to catch the daylight from the embrasured window.

Nearby stood a writing desk with linenfold paneling, a lectern fashioned like a two-tiered tower on a baluster support, and an X-framed chair.

Ulath had dismissed his illusion, and when Itagne reapproached the lectern, the entire audience was huddled closely together near the front of the auditorium.

Once ensconced behind the lectern, Whiss surveyed the audience at length, preternatural tiger-eyes shifting slowly from face to face, sliding easily over some, elsewhere pausing long and significantly, to the indescribable discomfort of assorted victims.

Dale moved back to the defense table, and Ziegler moved to the lectern to resume her direct.