Meanings
plural hypertexts
- uncountableDigital text in which the reader may navigate related information through embedded hyperlinks.
Further, hypertext systems, because of their ease of construction, are very rich in text, graphics and visual illustrations.
1999, Ray McAleese, Hypertext: Theory into Practice, Intellect Books, →ISBN, page 22 more examples
We do not read hypertext the same way we read a novel, and browsing the Web is a different experience from reading a book or newspaper.
2009, Christian Vandendorpe, Phyllis Aronoff, and Howard Scott (Phyllis Aronoff, Howard Scott, transl.), From Papyrus to Hypertext: Toward the Universal Digital Library, University of Illinois Press, p 11995, Gary Wolf, "The Curse of Xanadu", WIRED Did Nelson realize at the time that he had met Xanadu's second parent? Probably not. The inventor scattered his ideas as widely as possible, with little care about where they landed. But as the decades passed, it would be Gregory who oversaw the attempt to transform Xanadu into a real product. He never received much public notice, but through all the project's painful deaths and rebirths, Gregory's commitment to Nelson's dream of a universal hypertext library never waned. If Ted Nelson is Xanadu's profligate father, Roger Gregory is Xanadu's devoted mother, and in retrospect, his role appears to have been intertwined with a terrible element of sacrifice.
- countableA hypertext document.
A hypertext system, then, is a memex-like device for creating and manipulating hypertexts, both for on-line browsing, and for reducing selected portions of such texts to . .
1969, S. Carmody, W. Gross, T. Nelson, D. Rice, and A. van Dam, “A Hypertext Editing System for the /360”, in Michael Faiman and Jurg Nievergelt, Pertinent Concepts in Computer Graphics: Proceedings, University of Illinois Press, p 296
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
From hyper- + text; coined by American information technologist, philosopher, and sociologist Ted Nelson in 1965.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic هَايْبَرْتِكْسْت
- هَايْبَرْتِكْسْت (haybartekst)uncountable: text for the Web
Catalan hipertext
- hipertextuncountable: text for the Web
Chinese Mandarin 超文本, 超文字
- 超文本 (chāowénběn)uncountable: text for the Web
- 超文字 (chāowénzì)uncountable: text for the Web
- 超文本 (chāowénběn)countable: hypertext document
- 超文件 (chāowénjiàn)countable: hypertext document
Czech hypertext
- hypertextuncountable: text for the Web
Danish hypertekst
- hypertekstuncountable: text for the Web
Esperanto hiperteksto
- hipertekstouncountable: text for the Web
Finnish hyperteksti
- hypertekstiuncountable: text for the Web
French hypertexte, document m hypertexte
- hypertexteuncountable: text for the Web
- document m hypertextecountable: hypertext document
German Hypertext
- Hypertextuncountable: text for the Web
Greek υπερκείμενο, υπερκείμενο
- υπερκείμενο (yperkeímeno)uncountable: text for the Web
- υπερκείμενο (yperkeímeno)countable: hypertext document
Icelandic stiklutexti
- stiklutextiuncountable: text for the Web
Italian ipertesto
- ipertestouncountable: text for the Web
Japanese 超文面, ハイパーテキスト
- 超文面 (chōbunmen)uncountable: text for the Web
- ハイパーテキスト (haipātekisuto)uncountable: text for the Web
Korean 하이퍼텍스트, 초본문
- 하이퍼텍스트 (haipeotekseuteu)uncountable: text for the Web
- 초본문 (chobonmun)uncountable: text for the Web
Malay hiperteks
- hiperteksuncountable: text for the Web
Polish hipertekst, hipertekst
- hipertekstuncountable: text for the Web
- hipertekstcountable: hypertext document
Portuguese hipertexto
- hipertextouncountable: text for the Web
Russian гиперте́кст
- гиперте́кст (gipertékst)uncountable: text for the Web
Spanish hipertexto, hipertexto
- hipertextouncountable: text for the Web
- hipertextocountable: hypertext document
Swedish hypertext, hypertext
- hypertextuncountable: text for the Web
- hypertextcountable: hypertext document
- hypertextdokumentcountable: hypertext document
Turkish hipermetin, hipertekst
- hipermetinuncountable: text for the Web
- hipertekstuncountable: text for the Web
Cite this entry
hypertext. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hypertext
“hypertext.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hypertext. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hypertext,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hypertext.
Source: hypertext on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.