stemma codicum

UK/ˈstɛməˈkəʊdɪkəm/

noun

A schema, resulting from the stemmatological process of recension, in which all surviving manuscripts of a given text are represented with their derivation, via intermediary hyparchetypes, from a single archetype.

OriginLatin stemma cōdicum →
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Meanings

nounstemma codicum (plural stemmata codicum)

plural stemmata codicum

  1. human sciencesA schema, resulting from the stemmatological process of recension, in which all surviving manuscripts of a given text are represented with their derivation, via intermediary hyparchetypes, from a single archetype.

Origin

  1. Latinstemma cōdicum
  2. Englishstemma codicum

Borrowed from Latin stemma cōdicum, from stemma (“family tree”) + cōdicum (“book”, genitive plural).

More words from Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Polish stemma codicum
  • stemma codicumschema wherein a text’s MSS. are represented with their derivation from an archetype
Cite this entry
APA

stemma codicum. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/stemma%20codicum

MLA

“stemma codicum.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/stemma%20codicum. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “stemma codicum,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/stemma%20codicum.

Source: stemma codicum on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.