commentary

[ kom-uhn-ter-ee ]

noun

, plural com·men·tar·ies.

1. a series of comments, explanations, or annotations:

   a commentary on the Bible; news followed by a commentary.

2. an explanatory essay or treatise:

   a commentary on a play; Blackstone's commentaries on law.

3. anything serving to illustrate a point, prompt a realization, or exemplify, especially in the case of something unfortunate:

   The dropout rate is a sad commentary on our school system.

4. Usually commentaries. records of facts or events:

   Commentaries written by Roman lawyers give us information on how their courts functioned.

commentary

/ ˌkɒmənˈtɛərɪəl; -trɪ; ˈkɒməntərɪ /

noun

1. an explanatory series of notes or comments
2. a spoken accompaniment to a broadcast, film, etc, esp of a sporting event
3. an explanatory essay or treatise on a text
4. usually plural a personal record of events or facts

   the commentaries of Caesar

Derived Forms

• commentarial, adjective

Other Words From

• com·men·tar·i·al [kom-, uh, n-, tair, -ee-, uh, l], adjective
• super·commen·tary noun plural supercommentaries

Word History and Origins

Origin of commentary¹

1375–1425; late Middle English commentaries (plural) < Latin commentārium notebook, noun use of neuter of commentārius, equivalent to comment ( um ) comment + -ārius -ary

Related Words

• comment
• criticism
• critique
• description
• explanation
• narration
• observation
• remark
• review
• treatise