commentary: Meaning and Definition of

com•men•tar•y

1. a series of comments, explanations, or annotations: a commentary on the Bible; news followed by a commentary.
2. an explanatory essay or treatise: a commentary on a play; Blackstone's commentaries on law.
3. anything serving to illustrate a point, prompt a realization, or exemplify, esp. in the case of something unfortunate: The dropout rate is a sad commentary on our school system.
4. Usually,records of facts or events: Commentaries written by Roman lawyers give us information on how their courts functioned.