Vulgate

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈvʌlɡeɪt/

Definitions

1. The Latin version of the Bible traditionally used by the Catholic Church ; a widely circulated or standard version of a text or work that is commonly accepted
2. A Bible translation into Latin completed by St. Jerome, forming the Catholic canonical text ; a commonly known or popular edition of a written work shared among many readers
3. The Latin scripture translation historically authoritative in Western Christianity ; a prevalent or popular form of a text recognized by general readership

Etymology: The Vulgate is the Latin Bible that Saint Jerome produced around 400 CE, and its name is a little misleading. The adjective "vulgatus" comes from the Latin verb "vulgare," meaning to make something common or available to the public, so the Vulgate was the Bible made widely known to ordinary readers in the Latin-speaking world. The adjective originally carried no hint of crudeness. Over the centuries the Latin Bible became the standard text of the Western church, and "vulgata" came to name it specifically, with the sense of a text in common circulation. In English the word is used as a noun for that one edition, which is why it is capitalised and why it refers to a single book rather than to any popular translation. Its meaning stayed fixed on the scriptures even as the older sense of "common" faded from everyday use.

Synonyms: common version, standard version