Etymology From Middle English lecture, lectour, letture, letteur, lettur, lectury, from Medieval Latin or Late Latin lectura (“reading”), from Latin lectus, past participle of legō (“to read, recite”). Doublet of lector.
1
A spoken lesson or exposition, usually delivered to a group.
During class today the professor delivered an interesting lecture.
The stories did not seem to me to touch life. […] They left me with the impression of a well-delivered stereopticon lecture, with characters about as life-like as the shadows on the screen, and whisking on and off, at the mercy of the operator.1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter I, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:
2
Broadly A class that primarily consists of a (weekly or other regularly held) lecture (as in sense 1), usually at college or university.
We will not have lecture tomorrow.
Lecture notes are online.
3
A berating or scolding, especially if lengthy, formal or given in a stern or angry manner.
I really don't want you to give me a lecture about my bad eating habits.
Etymology From Middle English lecture, lectour, letture, letteur, lettur, lectury, from Medieval Latin or Late Latin lectura (“reading”), from Latin lectus, past participle of legō (“to read, recite”). Doublet of lector.
1
Ambitransitive To teach (somebody) by giving a speech on a given topic.
The professor lectured to two classes this morning.
2
To preach, to berate, to scold.
Emily's father lectured her about the importance of being home before midnight.
The dispatches […] also exposed the blatant discrepancy between the west's professed values and actual foreign policies. Having lectured the Arab world about democracy for years, its collusion in suppressing freedom was undeniable as protesters were met by weaponry and tear gas made in the west, employed by a military trained by westerners.2013 June 7, Gary Younge, “Hypocrisy lies at heart of Manning prosecution”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 26, page 18: