Rec"tor (r?k"t?r), n. [L., fr. regere, rectum, to lead straight, to rule: cf. F. recteur. See Regiment, Right.]

1.

A ruler or governor.

[R.]

God is the supreme rector of the world. Sir M. Hale.

2. (a) Ch. of Eng.

A clergyman who has the charge and cure of a parish, and has the tithes, etc.; the clergyman of a parish where the tithes are not impropriate. See the Note under Vicar.

Blackstone. (b) Prot. Epis. Ch.

A clergyman in charge of a parish.

3.

The head master of a public school.

[Scot.]

4.

The chief elective officer of some universities, as in France and Scotland; sometimes, the head of a college; as, the Rector of Exeter College, or of Lincoln College, at Oxford.

5. R.C.CH.

The superior officer or chief of a convent or religious house; and among the Jesuits the superior of a house that is a seminary or college.

 

© Webster 1913.

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