Redactors

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Editors or staff who prepare written material for publication by correcting errors and improving clarity ; people who alter or suppress content before it is released to the public
2. Individuals who review manuscripts and copy for print, fixing mistakes and polishing wording ; those who make changes to texts, sometimes removing objectionable material, before they appear
3. Professionals who check and refine written works for accuracy and presentation ; reviewers who edit or delete passages from documents, films or publications before release

Etymology: "Redactors" is the plural of "redactor," a person who edits or prepares a text for publication. The noun is built from "redact," which came into English from Latin "redactus," the past participle of "redigere," meaning to bring back, reduce, or put into order. The sense of putting material into a fixed, organised form is what carries through to the modern meaning: a redactor brings a body of writing into shape, often by selecting and arranging what goes in. The ending "-or" is the familiar English agent suffix, borrowed through Middle English from Old French "-eor" and ultimately from Latin "-tor," which marked the person who performs an action. Attaching it to "redact" gave English a plain word for the one doing the work, so a redactor is literally the person who redacts.

Synonyms: editor, compiler