Word of the Day

: July 21, 2019

redaction

noun rih-DAK-shun

What It Means

1 a : an act or instance of preparing something for publication 

b : an act or instance of obscuring or removing something from a document prior to publication or release

2 : a work that has been redacted : edition, version

redaction in Context

"The government might have to make the findings and evidence public, with the fewest redactions needed to protect sources." — Peter H. Schuck, The Los Angeles Times, 17 Feb. 2013

"The black redaction box is meant to protect sensitive information from public view. It's supposed to be an impenetrable curtain. But sometimes that curtain is surprisingly easy to raise." — Phillip Bantz, Law.com, 19 Dec. 2018

Did You Know?

Here's a quiz for all you etymology buffs. Can you pick the words from the following list that come from the same Latin root?

A. redaction B. prodigal C. agent D. essay
E. navigate F. ambiguous

If you guessed all of them, you are right. Now, for bonus points, name the Latin root that they all have in common. If you knew that it is the verb agere, meaning to "to drive, lead, act, or do," you get an A+. Redaction is from the Latin verb redigere ("to bring back" or "to reduce"), which was formed by adding the prefix red- (meaning "back") to agere. Some other agere offspring include act, agenda, cogent, litigate, chasten, agile, and transact.