Underedit

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Making too few changes when revising a text, so that errors or weaknesses are left in place
2. Failing to revise a piece of writing thoroughly enough to correct its flaws and improve it
3. Having been given only a superficial or inadequate revision that leaves the work in need of more correction

Etymology: "Underedit" is a plain English formation: the prefix "under-" meaning "insufficiently" or "too little," attached to "edit." "Edit" itself was borrowed in the 1700s from the Latin "editus," the past participle of "edere," meaning "to bring forth" or "to publish," and was first used for preparing a text for publication. Its sense of changing and correcting a text came later, as publishing grew into a trade. Pairing "under-" with "edit" follows the same pattern as "undercook" or "underestimate," where the prefix signals that an action fell short of what was needed. The verb is a recent coinage, most likely from the 20th century, when "edit" was used so widely in publishing and film that writers needed a word for insufficient revision. It is a technical-style formation rather than a word with an older history of its own.