Text
TEXT (Lat. textum, woven fabric, from lexere, to weave), a term which is applied with several varieties of meaning to the actual words of an author as written; it is thus used of the original composition as opposed to the commentary, paraphrase, notes, etc., written by others upon it, and to the written printed matter as opposed to the illustrations, diagrams, etc., accompanying it (see TEXTUAL CRITICISM below). A specific meaning is that of a passage of Scripture used as the subject of a sermon or discourse, as an argument or illustration in theological discussion or as a means of edification, exhortation or admonition. Technically the term is also applied to a particular form of writing in MSS. before the age of printing, and so, in composition, in such uses as " text-hand," " text-writer," etc. A " text-book " is a manual or handbook of instruction, such as is used by students as the standard book on the subject which they may be studying.
Note - this article incorporates content from Encyclopaedia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, (1910-1911)
