Amendment

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /əˈmɛndmənt/

Definitions

1. A formal change or addition made to a law, contract, or other official document
2. A formal alteration or addition to legislation, documents, or agreements is intended to make clarifications, corrections, or improvements
3. A change or addition to legal texts or official documents that enhances, clarifies, or modifies existing provisions

Etymology: Before it meant a revision to a constitution or a contract, "amendment" was simply a matter of getting better. The root is the Latin verb "emendare," meaning to free from fault, and the English verb "amend" came to mean to improve or correct something, as in amending one's ways. The noun grew out of that sense of correction. The noun traces to French "amendement," which in turn came from the Late Latin "amendamentum," a formation built on "amend" plus the suffix "-ment," which turns a verb into a noun for the result or act of doing it. So the word literally names the result of an act of amending, a thing made better. The legal sense of a formal alteration to a document developed from that general idea of correction, and the amendments added to a constitution are the most familiar examples today.

Synonyms: revision, modification, alteration

Antonyms: repeal, withdrawal