urtext

American  

[ur-tekst, oor-] / ˈɜrˌtɛkst, ˈʊər- /

noun

(sometimes initial capital letter)

1. the original form of a text, especially of a musical composition.

---

Urtext British  

/ ˈuːrtɛkst /

noun

1. the earliest form of a text as established by linguistic scholars as a basis for variants in later texts still in existence

2. an edition of a musical score showing the composer's intentions without later editorial interpolation

---

Etymology

Origin of urtext

First recorded in 1950–55; ur- ³ + text

Example Sentences

If 2022 had an urtext, though, it was “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” which with 11 nominations and a clutch of influential guild awards is the presumed front-runner for best picture.

From Washington Post • Mar. 3, 2023

He said, “We have an 18-volume set of the complete keyboard works in urtext editions; would you like one?”

From New York Times • Jan. 18, 2022

The Netherlands’ capacity to churn out tales of international squad discord is almost unrivalled but we only have to look back 23 years for the urtext, which was written on English shores at Euro 96.

From The Guardian • Nov. 12, 2019

You can detect the melancholy tinge Frye describes in modern fantasy’s urtext, The Lord of the Rings, that massive elegy for a more enchanted world as it’s on the cusp of fading away.

From Slate • Mar. 22, 2019

Joe's mission thus becomes the latest translation of the sacred sociopathic-cinema urtext that is "Taxi Driver," and what it lacks in originality, it makes up for in craft, commitment and brooding intensity.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 5, 2018