Registrar

How to spell registrar

9 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce registrar

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does registrar mean?

1. nounAn official responsible for keeping formal records, such as student enrolments or registers of births, marriages and deaths.
2. nounA hospital doctor ranked above a junior doctor but below a consultant, training in a particular speciality.

Registrar in a sentence

• The couple booked an appointment with the registrar to give notice of their marriage.

• The registrar reviewed the patient's notes before the consultant arrived on the ward.

• The university registrar confirmed that her enrolment had been processed.

• After several years she qualified as a registrar in cardiology.

Where does registrar come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the medieval Latin registrum, meaning 'a list' or 'a written record', which itself grew from the late Latin regesta, 'things recorded', based on the verb regerere, 'to carry back' or 'to enter in a record'. From registrum came the medieval Latin agent noun registrarius, the official whose job was to keep the register. English adopted it in the sixteenth century to name the keeper of any official roll, whether of students, of land, or of births, marriages and deaths. The spelling trap lies in that final '-ar' ending, which echoes Latin agent words rather than the more familiar English '-er', so writers who trust their ear often produce 'register' instead. The closely related everyday words 'register' and 'registry' share the same Latin root, which is a useful memory anchor.

How the word is built

• register (from Latin registrum: a list or record)
• -ar (agent suffix: one who does)