[lek-tern] 
| 1. | a reading desk in a church on which the Bible rests and from which the lessons are read during the church service. |
| 2. | a stand with a slanted top, used to hold a book, speech, manuscript, etc., at the proper height for a reader or speaker. |
| lec·tern (lěk'tərn) n.
[Middle English lettorne, lectorn, from Old French lettrun, from Medieval Latin lēctrīnum, from Late Latin lēctrum, from Latin lēctus, past participle of legere, to read; see leg- in Indo-European roots.] |
lectern
originally a pedestal-based reading desk with a slanted top used for supporting liturgical books-such as Bibles, missals, and breviaries at religious services; later, a stand that supports a speaker's books and notes. In early Christian times, lecterns, then known as ambos, were incorporated into the structure of the sanctuary-one on the north side of the choir for reading the Epistle, the other at the south for reading the Gospel
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