Iterata

Iterata is a term used in scholarly writing to denote items that have been repeated or subjected to repetition. It is most often encountered as a Latin-derived noun, typically the neuter plural form iterata, formed from the participle iteratus "repeated" and related to iterare "to repeat." Because it is a Latin inflection rather than a technical term with a single fixed definition in English, its precise sense varies by discipline and by context.

In textual criticism and philology, iterata can refer to repeated readings or copies produced by re-inscribing a text, or to passages that recur within a text. In linguistics and literary studies, the word may be used to describe iterative or repeated structures, sentences, or motifs. In mathematics or computer science, the standard term is iteration; if used in English, iterata would typically appear only as a Latinized phrase or in quotation, to refer to the "iterated" elements of a process.

The term is relatively rare in modern English; when precision is needed, writers prefer "iterations," "repetitions," or "iterated elements." Consequently, iterata is most often found in analyses that draw on Latin terminology or in historical texts where Latin phrasing remains conventional.

See also: iteration, repetition, iteratio, iterare, iteratus.