lay reader
1
8.6
- noun
- /leɪ ˈriːdər/
- Jargon
:
lector laico
- He serves as a lay reader, helping guide the church service in his local Anglican community.
- accessible to the lay reader
Examples
-
So these young men were trained not only to be catechists and lay readers by their CMS missionaries but eventually to become missionaries and priests to a chain of indigenous congregations, stretching across the very populous Igbo-speaking region.
Academic text (2000) -
As a lay reader, she was asked to lead the prayers during the church service.
-
During the Sunday service, the lay reader presented the scripture readings to the congregation.
Synonyms
9
7.4
A person who says Bible passages or prayers aloud during a church service
1
9.9
A person who reads parts of the Bible during a church service
Antonyms
How Official
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'lay' (non-clerical) modifies 'reader' so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer 'a non-clergy person who reads/led readings in church.' While the full institutional nuance (authorization by a bishop) is specialised, that detail does not prevent basic comprehension and the modifier+noun pattern is common cross-linguistically.
Etymology
Lay reader comes from church practice: lay means a person who is not a priest, and reader is someone who reads the Bible aloud. Church leaders would let trusted non-priest members read scripture and lead some parts of the service, so the term now means 'a non-ordained person allowed to lead parts of a church service'.