Preprint

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A document or article published before formal peer review and often prior to editorial changes
2. An early version of a scholarly work made accessible to the public, allowing for feedback before final publication
3. Typically shared in online repositories, this type of material contributes to collaboration and dissemination within the academic community

Etymology: A preprint is simply a paper released before its formal publication, and its history is essentially the history of two parts joined together. The prefix "pre-" comes from Latin "prae", meaning "before" or "in front of", which entered English as a prefix and was attached freely to native and borrowed words over the centuries. The second part, "print", has a longer lineage: it descends from Latin "premere", "to press", through the compound "imprimere", "to press into" or "impress", which passed through Old French and into Middle English as "emprinten", later shortened to "printen". Put together, "preprint" describes a text pressed into shape before the main press run, a sense that fits its modern use neatly. The combination is transparent, so there is no hidden story here: a researcher circulates a draft, and the word names exactly that act of getting ideas into print ahead of time.

Synonyms: draft, manuscript, proof, version, publication