rectify

The story

1. Latin · derived fromrēctus“straight”
2. Medieval Latin · derived fromrēctificō“to make right”
3. Anglo-Norman · derived fromrectifiier
4. Middle English · inherited fromrectifien
5. English todayrectify

From Middle English rectifien, from Anglo-Norman rectifiier, rectefier (“to make straight”), from Medieval Latin rēctificō (“to make right”), from Latin rēctus (“straight”).

Words from the same roots

First known use, by meaning

• 14th–18th c. To heal (an organ or part of the body).
• from 16th c. To restore (someone or something) to its proper condition; to straighten out, to set right.
• from 15th c. To remedy or fix (an undesirable state of affairs, situation etc.).
• from 15th c. To purify or refine (a substance) by distillation.
• from 16th c. To correct or amend (a mistake, defect etc.).
• from 16th c. To correct (someone who is mistaken).
• from 16th c. To adjust (a globe or sundial) to prepare for the solution of a proposed problem.
• from 19th c. To convert (alternating current) into direct current.