version

/ˈvʌrʒən/

/ˈvʌʒən/

Other forms: versions

If the professor says, “Read the complete works of Shakespeare” and you go for the Cliff Notes, you could say you read a short version of the Bard’s work, but really, you're cheating. A version is a specific edition or form of something.

Version derives from the Latin vertere, "to turn." Think of it as someone taking a turn, as in an adaptation of a work of art or literature. "Can you believe they made an animated version of The Sinking of the Lusitania?" Or someone giving their own account of an event. "Your version of what happened the night we got locked in the storage unit is totally different from mine!"

Definitions of version

1. noun

   something a little different from others of the same type
   “an experimental version of the night fighter”

   synonyms: edition, variant, variation

   type of:

   type

   a subdivision of a particular kind of thing
2. noun

   an interpretation of a matter from a particular viewpoint
   “his version of the fight was different from mine”

   types:

   approximation

   an imprecise or incomplete account

   type of:

   interpretation

   an explanation that results from interpreting something
3. noun

   a written work (as a novel) that has been recast in a new form
   synonyms: adaptation, retelling

   types:

   modernisation, modernization

   a modernized version (as of a play)

   versification

   a metrical adaptation of something (e.g., of a prose text)

   type of:

   piece of writing, writing, written material

   the work of a writer; anything expressed in letters of the alphabet (especially when considered from the point of view of style and effect)
4. noun

   a written communication in a second language having the same meaning as the written communication in a first language
   synonyms: interlingual rendition, rendering, translation

   types:

   mistranslation

   an incorrect translation

   crib, pony, trot

   a literal translation used in studying a foreign language (often used illicitly)

   retroversion

   translation back into the original language

   caption, subtitle

   translation of foreign dialogue of a movie or TV program; usually displayed at the bottom of the screen

   supertitle, surtitle

   translation of the words of a foreign opera (or choral work) projected on a screen above the stage

   type of:

   written account, written record

   a written document preserving knowledge of facts or events
5. noun

   a mental representation of the meaning or significance of something
   synonyms: interpretation, reading

   types:

   reinterpretation

   a new or different meaning

   anagoge

   a mystical or allegorical interpretation (especially of Scripture)

   type of:

   internal representation, mental representation, representation

   a presentation to the mind in the form of an idea or image
6. noun

   manual turning of a fetus in the uterus (usually to aid delivery)
   type of:

   turn, turning

   the act of changing or reversing the direction of the course