preceptor

English

Alternative forms

• præceptor (archaic)
• præceptour (obsolete, rare)
• preceptour (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English preceptor, preceptur, from Latin praeceptor (“commander; instructor”), from the verb praecipiō + -or (“-er: forming agent nouns”), from prae- (“pre-, fore-: before”) + capiō (“to take; to get, to take in, to understand”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /pɹɪˈsɛp.tə/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈpɹiˌsɛp.tɚ/
• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /pɹɪˈsep.tə/

Noun

preceptor (plural preceptors)

1. A teacher or tutor. [from 15th c.]
   • c. 1793, Edward Gibbon, Memoirs, Penguin, published 1990, page 64:

     A man who had thought so much on the subjects of language and education was surely no ordinary preceptor.

   • 1905, George Bernard Shaw, The author's apology from Mrs. Warren's Profession, page 61:

     We shall resume our studies later on; but just now I am tired of playing the preceptor; and the eager thirst of my pupils for improvement does not console me for the slowness of their progress.

2. (historical) The head of a preceptory of Knights Templar. [from 15th c.]
3. (medicine, chiefly US) A doctor who gives practical training to medical students, nurses etc. [from 19th c.]

   Coordinate terms: orientee, mentee

   Near-synonyms: mentor, professor

Derived terms

• preceptorial
• preceptorship
• preceptress

Anagrams

• perceptor

Hungarian

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin praeceptor (“teacher”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈprɛt͡sɛptor]
• Hyphenation: pre‧cep‧tor
• Rhymes: -or

Noun

preceptor

1. (dated) preceptor (a teacher or tutor)

   Synonyms: tanító, segédtanító, házitanító, nevelő

Declension

Inflection (stem in -o-, back harmony)

	singular	plural
nominative	preceptor	preceptorok
accusative	preceptort	preceptorokat
dative	preceptornak	preceptoroknak
instrumental	preceptorral	preceptorokkal
causal-final	preceptorért	preceptorokért
translative	preceptorrá	preceptorokká
terminative	preceptorig	preceptorokig
essive-formal	preceptorként	preceptorokként
essive-modal	—	—
inessive	preceptorban	preceptorokban
superessive	preceptoron	preceptorokon
adessive	preceptornál	preceptoroknál
illative	preceptorba	preceptorokba
sublative	preceptorra	preceptorokra
allative	preceptorhoz	preceptorokhoz
elative	preceptorból	preceptorokból
delative	preceptorról	preceptorokról
ablative	preceptortól	preceptoroktól
non-attributive possessive – singular	preceptoré	preceptoroké
non-attributive possessive – plural	preceptoréi	preceptorokéi

Possessive forms of preceptor

possessor	single possession	multiple possessions
1st person sing.	preceptorom	preceptoraim
2nd person sing.	preceptorod	preceptoraid
3rd person sing.	preceptora	preceptorai
1st person plural	preceptorunk	preceptoraink
2nd person plural	preceptorotok	preceptoraitok
3rd person plural	preceptoruk	preceptoraik

Derived terms

• preceptori
• preceptorkodik
• preceptorság

Further reading

• preceptor in Géza Bárczi, László Országh, et al., editors, A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára [The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language] (ÉrtSz.), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN.

Middle English

Alternative forms

• preceptur

Noun

preceptor (plural preceptors)

1. preceptor

Polish

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *per-

Proto-Indo-European *preh₂-

Proto-Indo-European *-i

Proto-Indo-European *préh₂i?

Proto-Italic *prai

Proto-Italic *prai-

Latin prae-

Proto-Indo-European *kap-

Proto-Indo-European *-yéti

Proto-Indo-European *kapyéti

Proto-Italic *kapjō

Old Latin kapiō

Latin capiō

Latin praecipiō

Proto-Indo-European *-tōr

Proto-Italic *-tōr

Latin -tor

Latin praeceptorlbor.

Polish preceptor

Learned borrowing from Latin praeceptor (“commander; instructor”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /prɛˈt͡sɛp.tɔr/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛptɔr
• Syllabification: pre‧cep‧tor

Noun

preceptor m pers (related adjective preceptorski)

1. (dated) preceptor (a teacher or tutor)

   Synonyms: nauczyciel, wychowawca

   • 1778, Ignacy Krasicki, Pan Podstoli (Dzieła; 4)‎^[1], Warszawa: N[atan]. Glücksberg, published 1829, page 108:

     Przyszedł czas nauk, sprowadzono guwernera Francuza, preceptora Szwajcara, i dwóch metrów, Matematyki i tańca.

     The time of the sciences came, a French tutor was brought in, a Swiss preceptor, and two metres, maths and dance.

   • 1917, Kazimierz Chłędowski (Kalasanty Kruk), Historie neapolitańskie. Wiek XIV–XVIII. Z 34 ilustracjami‎^[2], Kraków—Lwów: Gebethner i Wolff, page 443:

     Książe preceptor wpoił przede[ ]wszystki[e]m swemu wychowańcowi przepisy, czego się w życiu wystrzegać powinien, […].

     The prince preceptor first of all instilled in his pupil the rules, of what he should avoid in life, […].

   • 1996, Gomulicka, Barbara, editor, Pisarze polskiego oświecenia, →ISBN, page 142:

     […] ksiądz Popławski, preceptor młodszego brata Jana […]

     […] priest Popławski, preceptor to his younger brother Jan […]

Usage notes

The nominative/vocative plural preceptorowie is less common compared to preceptorzy.

Declension

Declension of preceptor

	singular	plural
nominative	preceptor	preceptorzy/preceptorowie/preceptory (deprecative)
genitive	preceptora	preceptorów
dative	preceptorowi	preceptorom
accusative	preceptora	preceptorów
instrumental	preceptorem	preceptorami
locative	preceptorze	preceptorach
vocative	preceptorze	preceptorzy/preceptorowie/preceptory (deprecative)

Further reading

• “preceptor”, in Polish dictionaries at PWN‎^[3] (in Polish)
• Woliński, Marcin; Saloni, Zygmunt; Wołosz, Robert; Gruszczyński, Włodzimierz; Skowrońska, Danuta; Bronk, Zbigniew (2020), “preceptor”, in Słownik gramatyczny języka polskiego [Grammatical Dictionary of Polish]‎^[4], 4. online edition, Warszawa

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French précepteur, from Latin praeceptor.

Noun

preceptor m (plural preceptori)

1. preceptor, private tutor

Declension

	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	preceptor	preceptorul	preceptori	preceptorii
genitive-dative	preceptor	preceptorului	preceptori	preceptorilor
vocative	preceptorule		preceptorilor

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin praeceptor.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pɾeθebˈtoɾ/ [pɾe.θeβ̞ˈt̪oɾ] (Equatorial Guinea, Spain)
• IPA^(key): /pɾesebˈtoɾ/ [pɾe.seβ̞ˈt̪oɾ] (Latin America, Philippines)
• Rhymes: -oɾ
• Syllabification: pre‧cep‧tor

Noun

preceptor m (plural preceptores, feminine preceptora, feminine plural preceptoras)

1. preceptor
2. (now chiefly Latin America) teacher

   Synonym: maestro

   • 1875, Benito Pérez Galdós, “chapter 16”, in 7 de Julio:

     Bajaba sí a la clase, puntual como un reloj; pero no tomaba las lecciones, ni reprendía a los chicos, y la palmeta se cubría de polvo en un rincón de la mesa. El preceptor absolutista no podía apartar el pensamiento de la tremenda imagen negra de su responsabilidad y castigo […]

     He did go down for the class, like clockwork, but he wouldn't go through the lessons, neither would he rebuke the boys, and the cane was gathering dust in the corner of the table. The absolutist teacher couldn't shake off the thought of the might dark image of his responsibility and punishment […]

Derived terms

• preceptoril

Related terms

• precepto

Further reading

• “preceptor”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025