text [LME] A text is created when words are woven together, and the term goes back ultimately to Latin texere ‘to weave’, also the source of texture [LME] which originally meant ‘a woven fabric’, textile [E17th], and context [LME]. Text is a good example of how words develop new meanings in response to changes in the world. It is associated with the most traditional forms of the written word, but technological changes have introduced text messaging. You might think that the verb text (as in ‘I’ll text you when I get back’) has only been in the language a short time, but here is Shakespeare using the word 400 years ago in the context of inscribing something on a gravestone in large or capital letters: ‘Yea and text underneath, here dwells Benedick the married man’ (Much Ado about Nothing).