[a. F. ēdition, ad. L. ēditiōn-em, f. ēdĕre to put forth, publish; see EDIT.]
† 1. The action of putting forth, or making public; publication. Obs.
1551. Recorde, Pathw. Knowl., Ep. to King. Desiring your grace not so much to beholde the simplenes of the woorke … as to fauour the edition thereof.
1577. trans. Bullinger’s Decades (1592), 111. Touching ye proclamation or first edition of the ten Commaundements.
1611. Speed, Hist. Gt. Brit., IX. xix. (1632), 929. The said pretensed marriage was made … without edition of banes.
1659. A. Loveday, in R. Loveday’s Lett., To Rdr. So tender was I of his honour in edition of his labours.
1663. J. Spencer, Prodigies (1665), Pref. God never saw it necessary … to correct and amend any thing in this great Volume of the Creation, since the first edition thereof.
† 2. The action of producing, or bringing into existence; hence, birth, creation (of orders of knighthood, etc.), extraction, origin. Obs.
1599. Sandys, Europæ Spec. (1632), 147. The great States of Italy … are loth to have their Pope of a Spanish edition.
1607. Chapman, Bussy D’Amb., Plays, 1873, II. 17. The Duke mistakes him (on my life) for some knight of the new edition.
1615. Crooke, Body of Man, 332. The Birth … we define to be an Edition or bringing into the world of an infant perfected and absolued in the wombe.
1656. Earl Monm., Advt. fr. Parnass., 211. Barons of late edition.
1677. Hale, Prim. Orig. Man., II. iv. 151. Consequently the World … is of a far later Edition than Eternity.
† b. Kind, species; fashion, ‘stamp.’ Obs.
a. 1625. Fletcher, Nice Valour, I. i. It kisses the forefinger still: which is the last edition.
1632. Brome, North. Lasse, II. iv. Wks. 1873, III. 33. A large window, one of the last Edition.
1640. J. Ley, Patterne of Pietie, 155. The Saints of the old edition.
1646. H. Lawrence, Comm. Angels, 93. His condition, his spirit, and his worke, were all of a lowe and humble edition.
3. concr. a. One of the differing forms in which a literary work (or a collection of works) is published, either by the author himself, or by subsequent editors. b. An impression, or issue in print, of a book, pamphlet, etc.; the whole number of copies printed from the same set of types and issued at the same time.
In the case of printed works the meanings a and b are often coincident; but an ‘edition’ (sense a) of a classic or the like, with a corrected text and critical or illustrative matter, being in a sense an independent work, may go through several ‘editions’ (sense b). It is awkward to speak of, e.g., ‘the second edition of Campbell’s edition of Plato’s Theætetus’; but existing usage affords no satisfactory substitute for this inconvenient mode of expression. To say ‘the second impression’ would now imply an unaltered reprint. The word is sometimes used in a narrower sense than that of the definition of b: thus a ‘large paper edition’ may be printed from the same type as, and issued simultaneously with, an ‘edition’ on small paper; but it is also usual to say ‘100 copies of this edition are on large paper.’
[1555. Robinson, trans. More’s Utop. (ed. 2), A iij b. I haue now in this seconde edition taken about it such paines.]
1570. Foxe, A. & M. (ed. 2), 1885. Although sufficient relation be made before in our former edition to be seene, pag. 1277.
1607. Sir W. Vaughan, Directions for Health (title page), The third Edition.
1624. Gataker, Transubst., 104. Their seuerall editions … so chopped and changed.
1662. Stillingfl., Orig. Sacr., I. vi. § 1. 93. He might make use of the edition of Causinus.
1703. De Foe, True-born Eng., Expl. Pref. I have mended some faults in this Edition.
1712. Addison, Spect., No. 470, ¶ 1. Upon examining the new Edition of a Classick Author.
1782. Priestley, Corrupt Chr., I. Pref. 21. There are different editions of many of the authors … I have quoted.
1807. M. Baillie, Morb. Anat., Pref. 22. In preparing this Third Edition for the press.
1838–9. Hallam, Hist. Lit., I. I. iv. § 63. Above 60 editions of the Orlando Furioso were published in the 16th century.
1845. Stephen, Laws Eng., I. 185. [King John’s] charter was finally altered, in its last edition, by Henry the third.
Mod. The latest edition of this evening’s paper.
b. fig.
1828. Steuart, Planter’s G., 51. Boutcher had another plan … for removing Trees…. It is a better edition of Lord Fitzharding’s system.
1856. in Century Mag. (1887), May, 95/2. We cannot hazard a second edition of imbecility or corruption!
