Etymology

redact

R1E1D2A1C3T1

Today it means: To censor, to black out or remove parts of a document while leaving the remainder. Full definition →

First used 19th c.Old French redacter ← Latin redactus
Ask AI about its historyChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

The story

  1. Latin · derived fromredactus
  2. Old French · derived fromredacter
  3. English todayredact

From Old French redacter, from Latin redactus, perfect passive participle of redigō (“drive, lead, collect, reduce”), from re- (“back”) + agō (“put in motion, drive”). Piecewise doublet of react.

First known use, by meaning

  • from 19th c. To reduce to form, as literary matter; to digest and put in shape (matter for publication); to edit.
  • from 19th c. To draw up or frame a decree, statement, etc.
  • 15th–16th c. To bring together in one unit; to combine or bring together into one.
  • 15th–17th c. To gather or organize works or ideas into a unified whole; to collect, order, or write in a written document or to put into a particular written form.
  • 16th c. To insert or assimilate into a written system or scheme.
  • 17th c. To bring an area of study within the comprehension capacity of a person.
  • 16th–18th c. To reduce to a particular condition or state, especially one that is undesirable.
  • 16th–17th c. To reduce something physical to a certain form, especially by destruction.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.