The Oxford English Dictionary Additions Series (volume 2), edited by John Simpson and Edmund Weiner, published in 1993 by Clarendon Press defines hypertext as:
Text which does not form a single sequence and which may be read in various orders; specially text and graphics ... which are interconnected in such a way that a reader of the material (as displayed at a computer terminal, etc.) can discontinue reading one document at certain points in order to consult other related matter.(with thanks to alt.hypertext Frequently Asked Questions)
As satisfying as this definition may be, on closer examination it seems
(without the computer terminal) to be a perfectly satisfying definition
of a footnote as well. But we knew all along that footnotes were among
the significant precursors to the idea of hypertext. Footnotes, however,
can comes in many different colors and flavors.
Go to: If we really still need a definition...,
or
Go to: The granddaddy of them all, or
Go to: Prove you're not making
all this up