REC'TOR, n. [L. rector, from rego, rectum, to rule.] 1. A ruler or governor.God is the supreme rector of the world.[This application of the word is unusual.]2. A clergyman who has the charge and cure of a parish, and has the tithes, &c.; or the parson of an unimpropriated parish.3. The chief elective officer of some universities, as in France and Scotland. The same title was formerly given to the president of a college in New England, but it is now in disuse. In Scotland, it is still the title of the head master of a principal school.4. The superior officer or chief of a convent or religious house; and among the Jesuits, the superior of a house that is a seminary or college.
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