Edition

How to spell edition

7 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce edition

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does edition mean?

1. nounA particular version or printing of a book, newspaper, or other published work issued at one time.

Edition in a sentence

• The first edition of the novel now sells for a small fortune.

• The morning edition of the newspaper carried the election results.

Where does edition come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin verb edere, meaning 'to give out' or 'to put forth', which was formed from the prefix e- (a reduced form of ex-, 'out') and dare, 'to give'. From edere came the noun editio, in the accusative editionem, meaning 'a bringing forth' or 'a publishing'. English took the word in during the 1500s by way of the French edition, at first to describe the act of publishing and soon afterwards the particular form in which a text was issued. The same dare 'to give' root quietly survives in a crowd of English words such as 'date', 'donate', and 'tradition'. A useful spelling cue is that edition begins with 'edit', the act of preparing a text for publication, which keeps it distinct from the unrelated sound-alike 'addition'.

How the word is built

• e- (out, from ex-)
• dit (root of dare/edere: to give, put forth)
• -ion (noun suffix)