The Textus Receptus (TR) is a printed Greek text of the New Testament that became the standard in much of the Protestant world from the 16th to the 19th centuries. Here is a clear overview:
The Textus Receptus (Latin for “the received text”) refers to a series of Greek New Testament editions based largely on late Byzantine manuscripts, beginning with Desiderius Erasmus's first edition in 1516. It became the textual basis for translations such as the King James Version (1611).
The TR is actually a collection of related printed editions:
Erasmus’ 1516, 1519, 1522, 1527, 1535 editions
Robert Estienne’s (Stephanus’) 1550, 1551 editions
Theodore Beza’s editions (1565–1604)
Each differs slightly, but all are part of the TR tradition.
The phrase comes from a publisher’s advertisement in 1633:
"Textum ergo habes, nunc ab omnibus receptum"
(“Therefore you have the text now received by all.”)
This slogan gave rise to the term Textus Receptus.
Erasmus had:
Only a handful (likely 6–7) Greek manuscripts
All were late Byzantine manuscripts
None contained the entire New Testament
For Revelation, he had only one manuscript, missing the last 6 verses—so he retranslated them back from Latin into Greek.
The KJV translators primarily used:
Beza’s 1598 TR edition
With influence from Stephanus’ 1550 edition
Thus, the KJV New Testament is a translation of the TR tradition.
Modern editions like:
Nestle–Aland (NA28)
United Bible Societies (UBS5)
…use thousands of Greek manuscripts, including:
very early papyri
early uncials (4th–5th century)
These often differ from the later Byzantine manuscripts the TR relies on.
Some readings in the TR are absent from the earliest Greek manuscripts, including:
The Comma Johanneum (1 John 5:7)
The longer ending of Revelation reconstructed from Latin
Several minor expansions
The Textus Receptus is a family of printed Greek New Testament texts starting in 1516 and based on a small number of late manuscripts. It played a major historical role, especially in the Reformation and in the creation of the King James Bible, but it is not considered the most accurate reconstruction of the earliest Greek text today.
If you want, I can also:
list all the major TR editions
compare TR readings to the Majority Text or Critical Text
explain differences between TR, Majority Text, and Byzantine text tradition
discuss its role in the Reformation.