revision

Etymology

It is borrowed from French révision, and partly from Late Latin revīsiō (“a seeing again”),^[2][3][4][5] a noun of action formed on revīsus, the past participle of revideō (“to see again, go to see again”), the verb behind revise.^[3][4][6] In French the noun is recorded from 1298, meaning an inspection, and by 1490 for the review of a legal case.^[2] The OED, revising the entry in 2010, adds that it was partly formed in English from re- and vision, especially in the sense "seeing again".^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Looking over or surveying something again: 1595, in A. Hartwell's translation of G. T. Minadoi's history of the Turkish wars; this sense is now obsolete.^[2] Merriam-Webster dates the word to 1607 and Etymonline to the 1610s.^[4][3]

Semantic evolution

The sense that lasted, a careful re-examination of a text, judgement or code in order to correct or improve it, is found from 1607, in E. Grimeston's translation of S. Goulart.^[2][4] By 1682 a revision could be the corrected version itself (Etymonline dates this to 1845),^[2][3] and after 1800 a single correction.^[2] From 1619 to 1840 the word could also mean a retrospective survey, a review,^[2] and Johnson (1755) glossed it simply as "review".^[7] In education, going over work already learned before an examination is recorded from 1838^[2] and is chiefly British;^[8] in surgery a revision is an operation to improve on an earlier one, especially the repair or replacement of an artificial joint (1915).^[2][5] The rare sense "seeing again" dates from 1796; out of it, or out of re- and the verb vision, came a verb revision, to picture again (1838) or to reinterpret (1968).^[2]

Timeline

• 1595 – looking over something again (obsolete by 1891).^[2]
• 1607 – critical examination of a text in order to correct it.^[2][4]
• 1610s – re-examination and correction, in Etymonline's dating.^[3]
• 1619 – a retrospective survey (obsolete by 1840).^[2]
• 1682 – a revised version of a text.^[2]
• 1796 – seeing again, a fresh vision.^[2]
• 1800 – a single amendment.^[2]
• 1838 – (education) going over work before an examination; the verb, to picture again.^[2]
• 1915 – (surgery) an operation to improve on earlier surgery.^[2]
• 1968 – the verb, to reinterpret.^[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The act or process of revising: re-examining a text, plan or law in order to correct or improve it.
2. A revised or new version of a text: The third revision of the handbook appeared last spring.
3. A single change or amendment made to a piece of work.
4. (chiefly British) The rereading of a subject or of one's notes in preparation for an examination.
5. (surgery) An operation to improve on the result of earlier surgery, especially the repair or replacement of an artificial joint.

Verb

1. (rare) To picture again; to reinterpret.

Word family

• revisionary
• revisional
• nonrevision
• prerevision

Related words

• revisal
• revise
• revisionist
• review
• vision
• visit

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
7. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
8. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins