lectern

UK/ˈlɛktə(ɹ)n/US/ˈlɛktə(ɹ)n/

nounC1Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #14,203 of 15,258leans written

Other forms: lecterns

A lectern is the slanted stand a speaker rests their notes on. Stand at the lectern, grip the lectern, a wooden lectern.

In churches the great brass ones are usually shaped as an eagle, whose spread wings hold the Bible. It differs from a podium, which is strictly the platform you stand on rather than the stand you read from.

Definitions of lectern

1nounlecternThe slanted stand a speaker rests their notes on.C1
“The speaker walked up to the lectern, arranged her notes and began.”

lectern is a stand.

Where it comes from

Medieval Latin lectrinum comes from legere, to read.

Proto-Indo-European
*leǵ-
Latin
lectrum
Medieval Latin
lectrinum
Old French
leitrun
Middle English
lettorne
English, today
lectern

15th century partial re-Latinization of early 14th century Middle English lettorne, lettron, from Old French leitrun, from Medieval Latin lectrinum, from Latin lectrum, from lectus (from whence also lecture), form of Latin legō (“to read”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in Office & Admin

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lectern in the wild

Many modern Roman Catholic churches have an ambo that functions as both a pulpit and lectern.
Pulpit
The lectern desk exists in two distinct forms, antique and modern.
Lectern desk
Common parlance has shown an increasing use of podium in North American English to describe a lectern.
Podium
A lectern is usually attached to a stand or affixed to some other form of support.
Lectern
To facilitate eye contact and improve posture when facing an audience, lecterns may have adjustable height and slant.
Lectern

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

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