Dictionary

preceptor en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /pɹɪˈsɛp.tə/ (UK)
• /pɹɪˈsep.tə/ (Australia)
• (Southern-England) audio
• /ˈpɹiˌsɛp.tɚ/ (General-American)

Etymology

From Middle English preceptor, preceptur, from Latin praeceptor (“commander; instructor”), from the verb praecipiō + -or (“-er: forming agent nouns”), from prae- (“pre-, fore-: before”) + capiō (“to take; to get, to take in, to understand”).

Meanings

1. A teacher or tutor.
   • When a youth of twelve years, - since, as Solomon says, "The root of learning is bitter, although the fruit is sweet - and following his literary pursuits, in order to avoid the discipline and frequent stripes inflicted on him by his preceptor, he ran away, and concealed himself under the hollow bank of a river[.] 1828, Thomas Keightley, The Fairy Mythology, volume II, London: William Harrison Ainsworth, page 191:
   • We shall resume our studies later on; but just now I am tired of playing the preceptor; and the eager thirst of my pupils for improvement does not console me for the slowness of their progress. 1905, George Bernard Shaw, The author's apology from Mrs. Warren's Profession, page 61:
   • A man who had thought so much on the subjects of language and education was surely no ordinary preceptor. c. 1793, Edward Gibbon, Memoirs, Penguin, published 1990, page 64:
2. (historical) The head of a preceptory of Knights Templar.
3. (US) A doctor who gives practical training to medical students, nurses etc.
   • Near-synonyms: mentor, professor

Forms

Coordinates

orientee · mentee

Deriveds

preceptorial · preceptress · preceptorship

Synonyms

mentor · professor

Translations (2)

es preceptora (Translations) · es preceptor (Translations)