textual criticism

American  

noun

1. lower criticism.

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textual criticism British  

noun

1. the scholarly study of manuscripts, esp of the Bible, in an effort to establish the original text

2. literary criticism emphasizing a close analysis of the text

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Other Word Forms

• textual critic noun

Etymology

Origin of textual criticism

First recorded in 1870–75

Example Sentences

Try to imagine this today: For almost a year, textual criticism was happening, and red-hot copies of The New York Review of Books flew off the newsstands.

From New York Times

Which is a lot to ask of a book and more to ask of a play, as textual criticism tends to offer limited catharsis and thrills.

From New York Times

Modern science and historical and textual criticism pose many of the questions for traditional Islamic piety that 19th-century science and biblical criticism posed for Christianity.

From The Wall Street Journal

The longer and shorter supplements to Mark belong again to the field of textual criticism.

From Project Gutenberg

As far as textual criticism is concerned, the quotations of the Fathers are fitful and uncertain.

From Project Gutenberg