amend
UK[əˈmɛnd]US[əˈmɛnd]
v
To make small changes to a text, law, or document in order to improve it or correct it.
v
To change one's behavior for the better; to reform.
Etymology
The word 'amend' traces its lineage to the Latin 'emendare', a compound of 'e-' (a variant of 'ex-', meaning "out") and 'mendum' (meaning "fault, blemish"). The literal sense was "to take out faults." This term passed into Old French as 'amender', where the initial vowel shifted. Upon entering Middle English, it retained the French form and core meaning of correction. The modern abstract sense evolved from the physical idea of removing a flaw from an object to the more conceptual acts of improving texts, laws, or one's own conduct. The related word 'emend' shares this same Latin root but is used more specifically for textual correction.
Analysis
The word 'amend' is a simplex form derived from the Latin verb 'emendare', meaning "to free from fault, correct, improve." It entered English via Old French 'amender'. The prefix 'a-' (from Latin 'ad-', meaning "to") and the root 'mend' (from Latin 'mendum', meaning "fault, blemish") are not productively separable in modern English spelling and morphology.
Examples
The committee voted to amend the constitution.
He promised to amend his ways after the warning.
Please amend the third paragraph to clarify the main argument.