Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Rector

Rector (r?k"t?r) , noun

[Latin, from regere, rectum, to lead straight, to rule: compare French recteur. See Regiment, Right.]

1.
A ruler or governor. [Rare]
God is the supreme rector of the world. — Sir M. Hale
2.
(a) (Ch. of Eng.) A clergyman who has the charge and cure of a parish, and has the tithes, etc.; the clergyman of a parish where the tithes are not impropriate. See the Note under Vicar.
(b)
(Ch. of Eng.) A clergyman in charge of a parish. — Blackstone
3.
The head master of a public school. [Scottish]
4.
The chief elective officer of some universities, as in France and Scotland; sometimes, the head of a college; as, the Rector of Exeter College, or of Lincoln College, at Oxford.
5.
(Roman Catholic Church) 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.