commentary

English

Etymology

From Middle French commentaire, from Latin commentārius, commentārium (“notebook”), compare French commentaire. See comment.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈkɒm.ən.tə.ɹi/, /ˈkɒm.ən.tɹi/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈkɑ.mənˌtɛɹ.i/

Noun

commentary (countable and uncountable, plural commentaries)

1. A series of comments or annotations; especially, a book of explanations or expositions on the whole or a part of some other work.
   • 1827, Henry Hallam, The Constitutional History of England from the Accession of Henry VII. to the Death of George II. […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: John Murray, […], →OCLC:

     This letter […] was published by him with a severe commentary.

2. (usually in the plural) A brief account of transactions or events written hastily, as if for a memorandum.

   Caesar's Commentaries on the Gallic War

3. An oral relation of an event, especially broadcast by television or radio, as it occurs.

   We listened to the football commentary while watching the match.

Synonyms

• (series of comments or annotations): scholia (ancient & medieval European works); secondary source

Derived terms

• anti-commentary
• audio commentary
• commentarial
• commentary box
• commentary track
• critical commentary
• DVD commentary
• metacommentary
• political commentary
• running commentary
• social commentary
• subcommentary
• supercommentary

 

Translations

A series of comments or annotations

• Armenian: մեկնաբանություն (hy) (meknabanutʻyun)
• Basque: iruzkin, azalpen, zeresan
• Bulgarian: коментар (bg) m (komentar)
• Catalan: comentari (ca) m
• Esperanto: komentaro
• Finnish: kommentaari (fi)
• Galician: comentario (gl) m
• German: Kommentar (de) m
• Greek: σχόλια (el) n pl (schólia)

  Ancient: σχόλια n pl (skhólia), παρεκβολή f (parekbolḗ), ὑπόμνημα n (hupómnēma)

• Hebrew: פירוש (he) f (perúsh)
• Hindi: विवरण (hi) m (vivraṇ), व्याख्या (hi) f (vyākhyā)
• Hungarian: kommentár (hu)
• Indonesian: komentar (id), ulasan (id)
• Kazakh: түсініктеме (tüsınıkteme)
• Kurdish:

  Northern Kurdish: şirove (ku) f, ravek (ku) f, ravekirin (ku) f, îzah (ku) f, şerh (ku) f, tefsîr (ku) f, ronkirin (ku) f, komentar (ku) f

• Latin: comentārium n, commentārium n
• Polish: komentarz (pl) m
• Portuguese: comentário (pt) m
• Russian: коммента́рий (ru) m (kommentárij), аннота́ция (ru) f (annotácija)
• Scottish Gaelic: iomradh m
• Spanish: comentario (es) m
• Telugu: వ్యాఖ్యానము (te) (vyākhyānamu)

A brief account of transactions or events written hastily

• Bulgarian: репортаж (bg) m (reportaž)
• Catalan: comentari (ca) m
• Finnish: kommentaari (fi)
• Hebrew: הערות f pl (hearót)
• Scottish Gaelic: iomradh m

An oral description of an event, especially broadcast by television or radio, as it occurs

• Dutch: commentaar (nl) n, voice-over (nl) m
• Finnish: selostus (fi)
• Greek: σχολιασμός (el) m (scholiasmós)
• Hebrew: דיווח m (divúakh)
• Hindi: व्याख्या (hi) f (vyākhyā)
• Marathi: कॉमेंटरी f (kŏmeṇṭrī)
• Russian: репорта́ж (ru) m (reportáž)
• Spanish: comentarios (es) m pl
• Telugu: వ్యాఖ్యానము (te) (vyākhyānamu)

Further reading

• “commentary”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.