emendare

Emendare is a Latin verb of the first conjugation meaning to correct, amend, repair, or improve. It can apply to tangible objects such as a text or a plan, as well as to moral or practical character, for example emendare mores (to reform one’s manners). In English, emend derives from this verb, and emendation or emendatio reflects the same sense of correction or improvement.

Etymology and forms: Emendare is formed from the stem emend- with the common suffix -āre for the present active infinitive. The word is built historically from menda, meaning fault or blemish, with a prefix e- conveying the sense of removal or thorough action. The standard principal parts are emendō, emendāre, emendāvī, emendātum, indicating a regular 1st conjugation verb with active and passive uses in Latin.

Usage in Latin and scholarship: In classical Latin, emendare is frequently used with a direct object such as textum or codex when referring to correcting a manuscript, as in emendare textum (to correct the text). The noun emendātiō (emendation) denotes the act or result of correction. In textual criticism and editorial practice, an emendation is a proposed change intended to restore the author’s original reading, often after evaluating manuscript variants and conjecture. The term can also extend to non-textual corrections, or more generally to any act of improvement or reform.

See also: textual criticism, emendation, emendātiō, corrigere, mend.