prefect
n.
magistrate, administrator; police commander; officer, curator; ruler, governor
Prefect
Academic !-- This section is linked from
Monitor -->In the context of
schools, a prefect is a pupil who has been given limited, trustee-type authority over other pupils in the school, such as a
hall monitor or
safety patrol. In many
British and
Commonwealth schools (especially but not exclusively
public schools), prefects, usually seventh formers, have considerable power and effectively run the school outside the classroom. They were once even allowed to administer
corporal punishment (emulating domestic discipline) in some schools (now abolished in the UK and several other countries) under a system of self control, or sometimes used as (generally willing) 'executioner' by the staff. They usually answer to a senior prefect known as the Head of School (though in Canada, Head of School is more often seen as a gender-neutral term for headmaster or headmistress) or Head Prefect (colloquially,
Head Boy or
Head Girl or
Senior Prefect). However, due to Health and Safety laws the staff have tended to become stricter about what responsibilities prefects may hold, for fear of being held responsible in case of litigation.In
United States private residential college preparatory schools; see also "
proctor".In
Sweden, a prefect () is the head of a university department.In
Singapore, prefects are student leaders in primary and secondary schools. In the United States, formerly in many Catholic high schools this title was given to a member of the faculty ("prefect of discipline" in charge of student attendance, general order and such).
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prefect
Noun
1. a chief officer or chief magistrate; "the prefect of Paris police"
(hypernym) administrator, executive
prefect (de)
n.
prefect
Prefect
(n.)
In the Greek and Roman Catholic churches, a title of certain dignitaries below the rank of bishop.
(n.)
A superintendent of a department who has control of its police establishment, together with extensive powers of municipal regulation.
(n.)
A Roman officer who controlled or superintended a particular command, charge, department, etc.; as, the prefect of the aqueducts; the prefect of a camp, of a fleet, of the city guard, of provisions; the pretorian prefect, who was commander of the troops guarding the emperor's person.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), edited by Noah Porter.
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