(archaic) A dramatic, musical, or similar entertainment performed before a monarch or other head of state, especially in a circumstance where that ruler has requested or ordered the performance.

(UK) A note from a doctor certifying the patient is ill, and therefore unable to go to work, school etc. / (UK, idiomatic) Someone who dodges work because of (feigned) illness.

plural of hectorite

(education) Prior to receiving a doctorate