lectorateEccl.|ˈlɛktərət| [ad. eccl. L. lectōrātus, f. L. lector lector.] The office of lector. 1876T. A. Dixon tr.Sighart's Albert Gt. 51 The duties of his first lectorate.1885Catholic Dict. (ed. 3) 510/1 The Lectorate was the first order conferred on young clerics.