Tractates

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A collection of written works or treatises, especially in a scholarly or religious context
2. Formal texts discussing specific subjects, often used as references in academic or theological studies
3. Written documents that systematically explore and analyze particular topics within a field of inquiry

Etymology: "Tractates" is the plural of "tractate," which entered English in Middle English from Latin "tractātus," a noun built on the past participle of "tractō," meaning "to handle" or "to discuss." The Latin verb is a frequentative form of "trahō," "to draw" or "drag," so the core sense of repeatedly pulling or handling a subject gradually turned into the idea of working over a topic in writing. That same Latin root reaches modern English by a second route. "Treaty" is a doublet of "tractate," meaning the two words descend from the same Latin source but came into the language separately, with "treaty" arriving through Old French and taking on the sense of a formal agreement between parties. "Tractate" kept the scholarly sense of a discourse that has been drawn out and examined at length.

Synonyms: treatises, essays, papers, discussions, writings