rectificatio

Rectificatio is a Latin term meaning “correction” or “purification,” and it is used in several disciplines to denote processes that make something more precise, pure, or straight. The root is rectus, meaning straight or right, combined with facere, to make or do. In modern usage, the term appears in English as rectification or rectificatio in specialized contexts.

In chemistry and chemical engineering, rectification refers to purification by distillation, especially the repeated distillation of a liquid or the use of a fractionating column to separate components with close boiling points. The goal is to increase purity and selectivity by exploiting differences in volatility, often described in terms of theoretical plates or stages. Rectification is central to alcohol production, essential oil extraction, and solvent purification.

In law, rectification of documents is a remedy that corrects a written instrument to reflect the true agreement of the parties. Courts may order rectification when there is clear evidence of drafting errors or misrepresentation, provided the intended terms are verifiable and the change does not alter substantive rights beyond aligning the document with the parties’ true intent. This use is common in civil-law jurisdictions and certain common-law systems.

In mathematics and geometry, rectification refers to determining the exact length of a curve, a process historically known as the rectification of curves. It is an older concept in which the goal is to replace a curved length with an equivalent straight segment, illustrating the historical development of arc length calculations.

Historically, rectificatio also appears in alchemical and hermetic literature, where it signified the purification of substances or elixirs, though this usage differs from modern scientific terminology.