[text] n [ME, fr. MF texte, fr. ML textus, fr. L, texture, context, fr. texere to weave--more at technical] (14c) 1 a (1): the original words and form of a written or printed work (2): an edited or emended copy of an original work b: a work containing such text
2. a: the main body of printed or written matter on a page b: the principal part of a book exclusive of front and back matter c: the printed score of a musical composition 3 a (1): a verse or passage of Scripture chosen esp. for the subject of a sermon or for authoritative support (as for a doctrine) (2): a passage from an authoritative source providing an introduction or basis (as for a speech) b: a source of information or authority
4: theme, topic
5. a: the words of something (as a poem) set to music b: matter chiefly in the form of words that is treated as data for processing by computerized equipment "a text-editing typewriter"
6: a type suitable for printing running text 7: textbook
8. a: something written or spoken considered as an object to be examined, explicated, or deconstructed b: something likened to a text "the surfaces of daily life are ~s to be explicated --Michiko Kakutani" "he ceased to be a teacher as he became a ~ --D. J. Boorstin"