edition
Pluraleditions
- 1A version of a written work as edited and published by a particular editor, in a particular form, or at a particular time.
The scholar prepared a critical edition of the medieval poem.
The paperback edition includes a new introduction by the author.
UsageThings appear in an edition: in the paperback edition. Not to be confused with addition, something added.
Similarversion
Note
One edition is usually told from another by the word in front of it. That word can be an editor's name (Samuel Johnson's edition of Shakespeare), a year (the 1921 edition), or a kind of treatment (an abridged, critical or paperback edition). Readers who care about exact wording therefore ask which edition they are holding, not just which title.
- 2A version of a manufactured product, such as a car, watch or piece of software, produced in a particular form or released at a particular time.
The watchmaker released a special edition of its classic diving watch, with a blue dial and only 300 pieces made.
The company releases new editions of its tax software every January.
UsageOften a special, limited or collector's edition, with of before the product: a special edition of the watch.
Similarversion, model, iteration
Note
The printer's vocabulary moved onto products: a limited edition is a capped run, by number made or by time on sale, like the copies printed at one time, and a special, anniversary or collector's edition marks a version set apart from the standard one. The phrase sells scarcity, which is why numbered badges and certificates often come with it. For software it often just means a tier or release: home edition, professional edition.
- 3One particular issue of a newspaper or magazine, or one broadcast of a regular radio or television program.
The story first appeared in the paper's morning edition on Tuesday.
In last week's edition of the radio show, the hosts interviewed a retired astronaut.
UsageStories appear in an edition: in the Sunday edition, in tonight's edition of the news.
Similarissue, episode, installment
Note
When a paper comes out in versions for different times or places, each one is an edition: the morning edition, the late edition, the Sunday edition. Issue is the broader word for one number of a periodical. A broadcast series uses edition the same way, so tonight's edition of a news program is one broadcast in a running series, usually with the program's name after of.
- 4A particular occurrence of a recurring event, such as a festival or competition.
The 2022 edition of the tournament drew record crowds.
Organizers promised the next edition would feature more teams.
UsageUsually a year or next first, then of and the event: the 2022 edition of the tournament.
Similarstaging
Note
The word for a publisher's printing also names each staging of an event that recurs under the same name, a use frequent in sports writing. Like a new printing, each edition counts as the same event appearing again.
- 5All the copies of a book or other work printed and published at one time, or a single copy from that printing.
The publisher printed an edition of ten thousand copies.
A limited edition of only five hundred prints sold out quickly.
UsageGive the size with of: an edition of ten thousand copies; also a first or limited edition.
Note
Here the word counts copies rather than versions of a text. It can also sell out, which the edited version cannot. When you read that a first edition sold quickly, the copies are what went.
Practice
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Origin
From French édition, from Latin ēditiō, which comes from the verb ēdere meaning "to publish."
Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- English edition comes from French édition. en.wiktionary.org
- French édition comes from Latin ēditiō, derived from ēdere meaning “to publish.” fr.wiktionary.org