emend

[ih-mend]

See more synonyms for emend on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)

to edit or change (a text).
to free from faults or errors; correct.

Origin of emend

1375–1425; late Middle English (< Middle French emender) < Latin ēmendāre “to correct,” equivalent to ē- e-¹ + mend(um) “fault” + -āre infinitive suffix

Related formse·mend·a·ble, adjectivenon·e·mend·a·ble, adjectiveun·e·mend·a·ble, adjectiveun·e·mend·ed, adjective

Synonym study

1, 2. See amend.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for emend

retouch, rectify, amend, edit, better, right, polish, alter, revise, improve, redact, emendate

Examples from the Web for emend

Historical Examples of emend

Partly with the help of Toup, we may emend this corrupt passage as follows: , , .
On the Sublime
Longinus
Some critical scholar of eminence should be called upon to emend or explain this mysterious passage.
Eothen
A. W. Kinglake
Emend′als, funds set apart for repairs in the accounts of the Inner Temple.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 2 of 4: E-M)
Various
That the last line is nonsense was clear to every one; but no critic ever could emend it.
The Shakespeare-Expositor: An Aid to the Perfect Understanding of Shakespeare's Plays
Thomas Keightley
To emend the Vulgate by the Hebrew and Greek is exactly what the heretics seek to do.
A History of the Inquisition of Spain; vol. 4
Henry Charles Lea

British Dictionary definitions for emend

emend

verb

(tr) to make corrections or improvements in (a text) by critical editing

Derived Formsemendable, adjective

Word Origin for emend

C15: from Latin ēmendāre to correct, from ē- out + mendum a mistake

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for emend

c.1400, from Latin emendare "to free from fault," from ex- "out" (see ex-) + mendum (nominative menda) "fault, blemish" (see amend). Related: Emended; emending.