Incipit: Difference between revisions

The '''incipit''' ({{IPAc-en|lang|pron|ˈ|ɪ|n|s|ɪ|p|ɪ|t}})<ref> {{OEDrespell|incipitIN|sip|it}}){{efn|Recommended Theby the ''OED[[Oxford English Dictionary]]''-recommended,<ref>{{OED|incipit}}</ref> pronunciationbut competes in everyday usage with several others: {{IPAc-en|ɪ|n|ˈ|s|ɪ|p|ɪ|t}} [ɪnˈsɪpɪt]{{respell|in|SIP|it}}, [ˈɪnkɪpɪt],{{IPAc-en|ˈ|ɪ|n|k|ɪ|p|ɪ|t}} [ɪnˈkɪpɪt]{{respell|IN|kip|it}}, [ˈɪntʃɪpit]{{IPAc-en|ɪ|n|ˈ|k|ɪ|p|ɪ|t}} {{respell|in|KIP|it}}, {{IPAc-en|ˈ|ɪ|n|tʃ|ɪ|p|ɪ|t}} {{respell|IN|chip|it}} and [ɪnˈtʃɪpɪt]{{IPAc-en|ɪ|n|ˈ|tʃ|ɪ|p|ɪ|t}} {{respell|in|CHIP|it}}. Of these, the use of second-syllable stress and of [{{IPA|/k]/}} for letter ''{{angbr|c''}} is endorsed by [[Merriam-Webster]] on its dictionary web site.<ref>{{cite ([dictionary|title=incipit|url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/incipit]).|dictionary=Merriam-Webster|access-date=12 May 2020}}</ref> Pronunciations with [{{IPA|/tʃ]/}} are based on the [[Italian language|Italian]] rendition of letter ''{{angbr|c''}} before ''{{angbr|i''}}. For discussion of the variants, see ChoralNet: [http://archive.choralnet.org/194865 ChoralNet] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.<archive.org/ref>web/20180331040107/http://archive.choralnet.org/194865|date=2018-03-31 }}.}} of a text is the first few words of the text, employed as an identifying label. In a [[musical composition]], an incipit is an initial sequence of [[Musical note|notes]], having the same purpose. The word ''incipit'' comes from [[Latin]] and means "it begins". Its counterpart taken from the ending of the text is the [[Explicit (text)|explicit]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ndl.go.jp/incunabula/e/glossary/glo_02.html|title=Incipit and Explicit - Incunabula - Dawn of Western Printing|website=ndl.go.jp}}</ref>

Before the development of [[title (publishing)|titles]], texts were often referred to by their incipits, as with for example ''[[Agnus Dei (liturgy)|Agnus Dei]]''. During the [[medieval period]] in Europe, incipits were often written in a different [[Typeface|script]] or colour from the rest of the work of which they were a part, and "incipit pages" might be heavily decorated with [[Illuminated manuscript|illumination]]. Though the word ''incipit'' is Latin, the practice of the incipit predates [[classical antiquity]] by several millennia and can be found in various parts of the world. Although not always called by the name of ''incipit'' today, the practice of referring to texts by their initial words remains commonplace.

The catalog was meant to be used by the very limited number of official [[scribe]]s who had access to the archives, and the width of a clay tablet and its resolution did not permit long entries. This is a SumerianAn example from Lerner (1998):<ref>Lerner, Frederick Andrew. ''The Story of Libraries: From the Invention of Writing to the Computer Age''. New York: Continuum, 1998. {{ISBN|0-8264-1114-2}}. {{ISBN|0-8264-1325-0}}.</ref>

{{quoteblockquote|<poem>

Many books in the [[Hebrew Bible]] are named in [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] using incipits. For instance, the first book (Genesis) is called ''Bereshit'' ("In the beginning ...") and [[Book of Lamentations|Lamentations]], which begins "How lonely sits the city...", is called ''Eykha'' ("How"). A readily recognized one is the "Shema" or ''[[Shema Yisrael]]'' in the [[Torah]]: "Hear O Israel..."&nbsp;– the first words of the prayerproclamation encapsulating Judaism's monotheism (see beginning [[Deuteronomy]] 6:4 and elsewhere).

All the names of [[Weekly Torah portion|Parashot]] are incipits, the title coming from a word, occasionally two words, in its first two verses. The first in each book areis, of course, called by the same name as the book as a whole.

The final book of the [[New Testament]], the [[Book of Revelation]], is often known as the Apocalypse after the first word of the original Greek text, [[wikt:ἀποκάλυψις|ἀποκάλυψις]] ''apokalypsis'' “revelation”"revelation", to the point where that word has become synonymous with what the book describes, i.e. the [[End timeEschatology|End of Days]] ([[wikt:ἔσχατον|ἔσχατον]] ''eschaton'' “"[the] last”last" in the original).

Traditionally, [[Papal Bull|papal bulls]] and [[Encyclical|encyclicals]], documents issued under the authority of the [[Pope]], are referenced by their [[Latin]] incipit.

However, incipits are still used to refer to untitled poems, songs, and prayers, such as [[Gregorian chant]]s, [[opera]]tic arias, many prayers and hymns, and numerous poems, including those of [[Emily Dickinson]]. That such a use is an incipit and not a title is most obvious when the line breaks off in the middle of a grammatical unit (e.g., [[Shakespeare]]'s [[sonnet]] 55 "Not marble, nor the gilded monuments").

[[Law Latin|Latin]] legal concepts are often designated by the first few words, for example, ''habeas corpus'' for ''habeas corpus ad subjiciendum'' ("may you have the person to be subjected [to examination]") which are itself the key words of a much longer writ.

Occasionally, incipits hashave been used for humorous effect, such as in the [[Alan Plater]]-pennedwritten television series ''[[The Beiderbecke Affair]]'' and its sequels, in which each episode is named for the first words spoken in the episode (leading to episode titles such as "What I don't understand is this..." and "Um...I know what you're thinking").

{{see also|thematicThematic catalogue}}

==FootnotesNotes==

[[Category:CanonicalCatholic canonical documents]]