Word of the Day

: November 10, 2009

rectify

verb REK-tuh-fye

What It Means

1 : to set right : remedy

2 : to purify (as alcohol) especially by repeated or fractional distillation

3 : to correct by removing errors : adjust

rectify in Context

The night before the Web site was to go live, the programmers worked frantically to rectify several unresolved security problems.

Did You Know?

Which of the following words does not share its ancestry with "rectify"?

1) direct 2) regimen 3) obstruct 4) correct 5) resurrection

Like "rectify," four of these words ultimately come from Latin "regere," which can mean "to lead straight," "to direct," or "to rule." "Correct" and "direct" come from "regere" via Latin "corrigere" and "dirigere," respectively. "Resurrection" comes from Latin "resurgere," whose stem "surgere," meaning "to rise," is a combination of "sub-" and "regere." "Regimen" is from Latin "regimen" ("position of authority," "direction," "set of rules"), itself from "regere." And "rectify" is from "regere" by way of Latin "rectus" ("right"). "Obstruct" is the only one of the set above that has no relation to "rectify." It traces back to Latin "struere," meaning "to build" or "to heap up."