lectionary

The word 'lectionary' has a direct lineage from the Latin verb legere, which originally meant "to gather, collect, pick out," and by extension, "to choose words" and thus "to read." From legere came the noun lectio, meaning "a reading" or "a selection." This term was adopted into ecclesiastical Latin to refer to the appointed readings from scripture during worship. The suffix -ary, derived from Latin -arius, was added to form a noun meaning "a thing pertaining to readings." Therefore, a lectionary is literally a book pertaining to the selected readings, preserving the ancient logic of gathering and choosing sacred texts for public recitation.

Structure: lection (reading) + ary (pertaining to) - lection: From Latin lection-, lectio (a reading, selecting), from the verb legere (to gather, choose, read). Its functional role is the core semantic root. - ary: A suffix of Latin origin (-arius), forming adjectives and nouns meaning "connected with, pertaining to, or a place for." Its functional role is to form a noun denoting a thing associated with the root.