versio

Versio is a Latin noun meaning a turning, a turning into something, or, by extension, a rendering of a text. It is derived from the verb vertere, “to turn.” In Latin grammar versio is feminine and belongs to the third declension; its standard dictionary form is versio with genitive versionis. The term underpins English words such as version and is related to equivalents in other Romance languages (for example, Italian versione, Spanish versión, Portuguese versão).

In classical usage, versio could denote the act of turning or transforming something. In literary and textual contexts, it came to refer to a rendering or adaptation of a text into another form or language, not merely a physical turning. This sense makes versio a common term in discussions of manuscripts and textual criticism, where a text exists in multiple variants or languages.

In modern scholarship, versio is often used to describe a version or translation of a work, especially when contrasting the original text with its renderings in different languages. For example, scholars may speak of a Latin versio of a Greek or Hebrew source, or of vernacular versioe in medieval manuscript culture. The phrase versio can appear in phrases such as versio Latina or versio Graeca to indicate the language of the rendering.

Overall, versio functions as a foundational term in philology and manuscript studies, signaling the act or result of translating, rendering, or reproducing a text in another language or form. It is also etymologically the ancestor of the English word version.