glossats

Glossats are short explanatory annotations or translations appended to words or phrases within a text to clarify meaning, supply a grammatical or semantic gloss, or indicate etymology. They function as concise aids for readers, enabling quick comprehension of unfamiliar terms or formulations.

Historically, glossats appeared prominently in manuscript culture and early printed editions. Medieval scholars often added vernacular or grammatical notes to Latin or Greek texts in marginalia or interlinear positions. Over time these annotations were sometimes collected into separate glossaries or reference lists, but in many cases they remain embedded in the text as marginal glosses or apparatus entries.

In practice, glossats cover a range of functions. They may supply a translation, indicate a lemma, provide a brief explanation of a linguistic feature, or supply a source or etymology. In linguistic research, similar devices are used in interlinear glossing, where morphemes and syntactic units are annotated with concise glosses to reveal structure and meaning. In such contexts the term gloss is more common, but discussions of glossats can appear in bibliographic or philological apparatus.

Glossats are distinct from glossaries. A glossary is a separate, organized list of terms with definitions, whereas glossats are notes attached to the text itself. Both tools aim to aid understanding, but their placement and scope differ. See also gloss, glossaries, and interlinear glossing.