Receptus

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

  1. The accepted text of the New Testament in the original Greek
  2. A term used to describe a standard or received version of a literary work
  3. Referring to the authoritative manuscript that has been used as a source for biblical translations

Etymology: The term "receptus" finds its roots in Latin, where it is the past participle of the verb "recipere," meaning "to receive" or "to accept." As a participle, "receptus" literally translates to "received" or "accepted." In classical Latin texts, it was used to describe something that had been taken in or admitted, often in both physical and metaphorical senses. Its journey into English is relatively specialized and largely tied to theological and textual scholarship rather than everyday language. The most famous use of the word appears in the phrase "Textus Receptus," which refers to the "received text" of the Greek New Testament. This term emerged in the 16th century, when early printed editions of the Greek New Testament, particularly those by the printer and scholar Erasmus, were described as the "received" or authoritative text for many Protestant translations of the Bible. In this context, "receptus" came to signify not just something received in a passive sense but something accepted as standard or normative by a community of scholars and religious authorities. The phrase "Textus Receptus" thus embodies a historical consensus or tradition regarding which version of a text was to be regarded as authentic or canonical. Outside of this specialized usage, the word is rarely employed in English on its own as a noun. Its presence is mainly tied to Latin phrases or scholarly discussions about textual transmission and the acceptance of documents or versions. The path from a simple Latin participle meaning "received" to a key term in biblical scholarship demonstrates how certain Latin words have been preserved in English due to their significance in specific intellectual and religious traditions.

Synonyms: received text, textus receptus, received manuscript