1.
original text; the source in its original form
The original text of a work, as opposed to a translation, adaptation, quotation, or commentary. Often used when stressing the value of consulting a source directly rather than through a secondary version.
原典に当たる。
To consult the original text.
翻訳ではなく原典で読みたい。
I want to read it in the original, not in translation.
引用が正確かどうか、原典に戻って確かめた。
I went back to the original text to check whether the quotation was accurate.
COMPOSITION: 原 (original) + 典 (text, classic). Literally "the original text."
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 原典に当たる: to consult the original source directly
- 原典に戻る: to go back to the original text
- 原典批判: textual criticism (of a source)
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 原文: the original wording — the actual text/wording, esp. before translation
- 原書: the original book — the physical book in its original language