recension
Americannoun
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an editorial revision of a literary work, especially on the basis of critical examination of the text and the sources used.
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a version of a text resulting from such revision.
noun
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a critical revision of a literary work
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a text revised in this way
Other Word Forms
- recensionist noun
Etymology
Origin of recension
1630–40; < Latin recēnsiōn- (stem of recēnsiō ) a reviewing, equivalent to recēns ( ēre ) ( re- re- + cēnsēre to estimate, assess) + -iōn- -ion
Explanation
When a literary or scholarly work is revised, it's called a recension. A recent recension of a medieval text is meant to be its most accurate, updated version. The term recension often refers to the process of editing and reworking very old works in translation, like the Bible or ancient Greek writing. These texts have gone through multiple recensions over time, each one trying to capture an accurate interpretation of the original words for a new audience of readers. Recension, originally "a review or examination," has a Latin root meaning "to count, enumerate, or survey."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
And new rules or the recension of old ones can be delayed by litigation, which always starts at lower courts and takes a while before it bubbles up to the Supreme Court.
From Slate • Nov. 16, 2016
The trouble began with his recension of Swan Lake, which was silly and eccentric and, worst of all, skewed to provide a fat role for the aging, painfully stiff company director.
From Time Magazine Archive
The swan as predator is also the inspiration for Matthew Bourne, 37, a young British choreographer, whose radical recension of the ballet classic Swan Lake opens this week in Los Angeles.
From Time Magazine Archive
Remains of a very ancient recension of the four Gospels in Syriac, hitherto unknown in Europe, discovered, edited, and translated by William Cureton, D.D.
From A Plain Introduction to the Criticism of the New Testament, Vol. II. by Scrivener, Frederick Henry Ambrose
Of the MSS. of class 4, one set represents a recension made by Ibn El-Assāl, circ.
From A Plain Introduction to the Criticism of the New Testament, Vol. II. by Scrivener, Frederick Henry Ambrose
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
