verb

emend

ee-MEND/iˈmend/

To correct or improve a text by editing.

The editor emends the misspelled word with a red pencil.

An editor uses a red pencil to correct the printed functional example “teh” to “the” on one small sheet, clearly crossing out the transposed spelling and inserting correct spelling above.

Etymology

The Latin pieces express taking faults out, hence correcting or improving something. Applied to writing, emending removes errors or revises faulty wording to make the text better.

More examples

She emended the quotation after checking the original letter.
We need to emend the report's misleading final sentence.
Scholars are emending the damaged text using another surviving copy.

Forms

emend · emends · emended · emending

emendation noun — A correction made to a text.

Similar words

edit: Covers broader changes to wording, organization, and presentation.
revise: Often involves substantial rewriting rather than correcting specific textual faults.
correct: Applies to fixing errors generally, not only in texts.