Editing

How to spell editing

7 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce editing

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does editing mean?

1. verbReviewing and revising written, visual, or recorded material to correct and improve it for an audience.

Editing in a sentence

• She spent the weekend editing the final chapter of her report.

• The video took longer to produce because the editing was so detailed.

Where does editing come from?

Language of origin: Latin

The word traces back to the Latin verb edere, meaning 'to put out' or 'to bring forth', formed from the prefix e- (out) and dare (to give). From its past participle editus came the noun editio, 'a publishing' or 'a giving out', which English borrowed through French as 'edition'. The verb 'edit' was then back-formed in English in the late 1700s from 'editor', the person who prepared a text for publication, so 'editing' is the activity of that role. Originally it described preparing manuscripts and newspapers for print, but the meaning broadened in the twentieth century to cover film, audio, and digital media. The single t in the middle is the spelling trap: because the stress falls on the first syllable, the t is not doubled, unlike words such as 'fitting' or 'omitting'.

How the word is built

• edit (from Latin edere: to put out, publish)
• -ing (verbal noun / present participle suffix)