Textual

How to spell textual

7 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce textual

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does textual mean?

1. adjectiveRelating to a written text, or based on the exact wording of a document.

Textual in a sentence

• The editor checked for textual accuracy against the original manuscript.

• Their textual analysis of the contract revealed an ambiguous clause.

Where does textual come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin textus, meaning a written work or a passage, though its earlier, more literal sense was 'a thing woven', the past participle of the verb texere, 'to weave'. Roman writers extended this image of weaving to language itself, thinking of a piece of writing as threads of words drawn together into a fabric. The Latin textualis, 'belonging to the text', passed into medieval scholarly Latin and from there into English around the late 1300s, used by writers discussing scripture and authoritative passages. The same texere root sits inside 'textile', 'texture', and indeed 'text' itself, which is a useful reminder that the spelling keeps the full 'text' before the ending. The most common modern slip is confusing it with 'textural', which relates to the feel or texture of a surface; keeping the woven-words meaning in mind helps you choose 'textual'.

How the word is built

• text (from Latin textus: a written work, literally something woven)
• -ual (adjective suffix: relating to)