English
prelect
Prelect comes from Latin praelectus ‘read to others, having been read to others,…’, from praelegō ‘lecture upon’, and ultimately from legō ‘read’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElegō1‘read’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpraelegō2‘lecture upon’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpraelectus3‘read to others, having been read to others, recited, having been recited’
- Englishearliest quotation 1860prelect3
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin praelego
- 2 Wiktionary, Latin praelectus
- 3 Wiktionary, English prelect
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1860, Thomas De Quincey, Conversation: “Spitting, if the reader will pardon the mention of…”.
Earlier history not traced here. See Wiktionary.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElegōWiktionary, Latin praelego‘read’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpraelegōWiktionary, Latin praelectus‘lecture upon’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpraelectusWiktionary, English prelect‘read to others, having been read to others, recited, having been recited’
- Englishearliest quotation 1860prelectWiktionary, English prelect. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1860, Thomas De Quincey, Conversation: “Spitting, if the reader will pardon the mention of…”
Linked words
through Latin legō ‘read’
college, collection, election, lesson, legend, elite, legacy, eligible, collective, colleague, coil, negligence, legion, delegation, select, elegant, collector, lecture, delegate, negligent, collegiate, diligent, negligible, cull, legible, legation, legate, elector, collegium, ineligibility, lectern, lector, 23 more
Today it means
verb To speak publicly; to lecture.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “prelect”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin praelego, Latin praelectus. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Latin legō / prelect