Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Higher criticism \High"er crit"i*cism\
   Criticism which includes the study of the contents, literary
   character, date, authorship, etc., of any writing; as, the
   higher criticism of the Pentateuch. Called also {historical
   criticism}.

         The comparison of the Hebrew and Greek texts . . .
         introduces us to a series of questions affecting the
         composition, the editing, and the collection of the
         sacred books. This class of questions forms the special
         subject of the branch of critical science which is
         usually distinguished from the verbal criticism of the
         text by the name of higher, or historical, criticism.
                                                  --W. Robertson
                                                  Smith.

Source : WordNet®

higher criticism
     n : the scientific study of biblical writings to determine their
         origin and meaning