/lek"teuhrn/ , n.
1. a reading desk in a church on which the Bible rests and from which the lessons are read during the church service.
2. a stand with a slanted top, used to hold a book, speech, manuscript, etc., at the proper height for a reader or speaker.
[ 1275-1325; earlier lectron ( e ), late ME lectryn lectrinum, deriv. of lectrum lectern, equiv. to L leg ( ere ) to read + -trum instrumental suffix; r. ME letroun, lettorne letrun lectrum, as above ]