manuscript

Everyday

1. A book, story or piece of writing written by hand, especially an old one from before printing. tree →
2. The writer's own copy of a book before it is printed, now often typed. tree →
3. Music written out by hand (manuscript paper). tree →

In the lessons

In history lessons: monks copied manuscripts by hand and decorated them with gold and colours. In writing: an author sends a manuscript to a publisher. In music: manuscript paper has lines for notes. Phrases: illuminated manuscript, the original manuscript.

Examples

• Monks wrote manuscripts with feather pens. tree →
• The museum shows an old manuscript with gold letters. tree →
• The author sent her manuscript to a publisher. tree →
• This manuscript is hundreds of years old. tree →
• We wrote our tunes on manuscript paper. tree →
• The manuscript was full of crossed-out words. tree →
• The Caliph, who liked to have old manuscripts in his library, even though he could not read them, purchased the scroll and the box, and dismissed the pedlar. tree →

Note

Countable. Short form: MS (plural MSS). Root "manu" = hand, "script" = writing. An "illuminated manuscript" is decorated with colourful pictures, not lit up with lights.

In Jewish tradition

Interpretation: In Jewish study, differences between manuscripts matter a lot, since the book was copied by hand for centuries. Scholars compare them to find the oldest and truest wording of Sefer Yetzirah. In the primary lessons: In history lessons: monks copied manuscripts by hand and decorated them with gold and colours. In writing: an author sends a manuscript to a publisher. In music: manuscript paper has lines for notes. Phrases: illuminated manuscript, the original manuscript.

Examples

• My reading according to a manuscript of Rabbi Isaac Luria, which I have preferred to all others, is thus: (Sefer Yetzirah, Kalisch 1877) tree →
• However, the manuscript variant found in the present edition is certainly old, appearing already in the oldest extant versions of the SY in the commentary of Saadia Gaon. (Sefer Yetzirah, Sefaria community translation) tree →
• Some manuscripts have a different reading, בשלשה ספרים בספר וספר וספר ‘with three books: a book, and a book, and a book’—certainly easier linguistically but no more clear in its meaning. (Sefer Yetzirah, Sefaria community translation) tree →

Note

Countable. Short form: MS (plural MSS). Root "manu" = hand, "script" = writing. An "illuminated manuscript" is decorated with colourful pictures, not lit up with lights.