ˈrektə(r) noun
( -s )
Etymology: Latin, from rectus (past participle of regere to rule, govern) + -or; in senses 3 & 4, from Medieval Latin rector ecclesiastical director, parish priest, director of a university, from Latin, governor, ruler — more at right
1. obsolete
a. : a governor or ruler usually of a country
b. capitalized : God as ruler of the world
2. : one that directs : leader
3.
a. : a clergyman of the Church of England who has the charge and care of a parish and owns the tithes from it : the clergyman of a parish where the tithes are not impropriate
b. : a clergyman of the Protestant Episcopal Church elected by the vestrymen who is the spiritual head and legally the presiding officer of a parish
c. Roman Catholicism : the head priest of a church or other religious institution
4. : the head of a university, school, or other teaching institution: as
a. : lord rector
b. : the master of a college at some English universities
c. : the head of one of the 17 departments into which the French educational system is divided
d. : the head of a German elementary or secondary school