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

Derived 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 • Jun. 12, 2018

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 • Jul. 25, 2017

They concede the need for textual criticism, admit that many passages must be interpreted symbolically rather than literally.

From Time Magazine Archive

Marcion's version of the scriptural canon was rejected by the church, but he nonetheless deserves to be remembered as the founder of New Testament textual criticism.

From Time Magazine Archive

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

From The Making of the New Testament by Bacon, Benjamin Wisner