emend

/ɪˈmɛnd/

Etymology

From Middle English emenden, from Latin ēmendō (“to free from fault”), from ex- (“out”) + mendum (“fault, blemish”). Doublet of amend.

Why this word is great

EMEND — [Verb] To correct and revise (a text or document). From Latin ēmendō ('to free from fault'), built from ex- ('out') and mendum ('fault, blemish'). Unlike 'amend' (which broadens to laws or conduct) or 'edit' (which may reshape freely), 'emend' is the surgeon’s knife, precise and purgative. It is the scholar’s marginalia in faded ink, the archivist’s steady hand repairing a misprinted folio, or the quiet triumph of spotting a typo in a beloved novel—each act a small defiance against the entropy of error, a belief that words, at least, can be made perfect.

verb

To correct and revise (text or a document).“Sixteen of these Letters, which were written at the suggestion of the Editor of the “St. James’s Gazette,” appeared in that journal, from which they are now reprinted, by the Editor’s kind permission. They have been somewhat emended, and a few additions have been made.”