mend
See also: mënd
English
Etymology
From Middle English menden, by apheresis for amenden (“to amend”); see amend.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /mɛnd/
- Rhymes: -ɛnd
Noun
mend (plural mends)
Derived terms
Translations
place or tear repaired in clothing
Verb
mend (third-person singular simple present mends, present participle mending, simple past and past participle mended)
- (transitive) To repair, as anything that is torn, broken, defaced, decayed, or the like; to restore from partial decay, injury, or defacement.
- My trousers have a big rip in them and need mending.
- When your car breaks down, you can take it to the garage to have it mended.
- (transitive) To alter for the better; to set right; to reform; hence, to quicken; as, to mend one's manners or pace.
- Her stutter was mended by a speech therapist.
- My broken heart was mended.
- (Can we date this quote?) Sir W. Temple
- The best service they could do the state was to mend the lives of the persons who composed it.
- (transitive) To help, to advance, to further; to add to.
- (Can we date this quote?) Mortimer
- Though in some lands the grass is but short, yet it mends garden herbs and fruit.
- (Can we date this quote?) Shakespeare
- You mend the jewel by wearing it.
- 1863, Sheridan Le Fanu, The House by the Churchyard
- But my lord was angry, and being disguised with liquor too, he would not let him go till they played more; and play they did, and the luck still went the same way; and my lord grew fierce over it, and cursed and drank, and that did not mend his luck you may be sure […]
- (Can we date this quote?) Mortimer
- (intransitive) To grow better; to advance to a better state; to become improved.
Derived terms
Synonyms
- See also Thesaurus:repair
Translations
to repair
|
|
to repair a tear in clothing
to alter for the better; to set right; to reform; hence, to quicken
|
to grow better; to advance to a better state; to become improved
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.
Translations to be checked
|
|
Related terms
▼ <a class='CategoryTreeLabel CategoryTreeLabelNs14 CategoryTreeLabelCategory' href='/wiki/Category:English_terms_derived_from_the_PIE_root_*mend-' title='Category:English terms derived from the PIE root *mend-'>English terms derived from the PIE root *mend-</a> (0 c, 10 e)
<a class='CategoryTreeLabel CategoryTreeLabelNs0 CategoryTreeLabelPage' href='/wiki/amend' title='amend'>amend</a>
<a class='CategoryTreeLabel CategoryTreeLabelNs0 CategoryTreeLabelPage' href='/wiki/amendable' title='amendable'>amendable</a>
<a class='CategoryTreeLabel CategoryTreeLabelNs0 CategoryTreeLabelPage' href='/wiki/amendatory' title='amendatory'>amendatory</a>
<a class='CategoryTreeLabel CategoryTreeLabelNs0 CategoryTreeLabelPage' href='/wiki/amendment' title='amendment'>amendment</a>
<a class='CategoryTreeLabel CategoryTreeLabelNs0 CategoryTreeLabelPage' href='/wiki/amends' title='amends'>amends</a>
<a class='CategoryTreeLabel CategoryTreeLabelNs0 CategoryTreeLabelPage' href='/wiki/emend' title='emend'>emend</a>
<a class='CategoryTreeLabel CategoryTreeLabelNs0 CategoryTreeLabelPage' href='/wiki/emendable' title='emendable'>emendable</a>
<a class='CategoryTreeLabel CategoryTreeLabelNs0 CategoryTreeLabelPage' href='/wiki/emendals' title='emendals'>emendals</a>
<a class='CategoryTreeLabel CategoryTreeLabelNs0 CategoryTreeLabelPage' href='/wiki/mend' title='mend'>mend</a>
<a class='CategoryTreeLabel CategoryTreeLabelNs0 CategoryTreeLabelPage' href='/wiki/mendicant' title='mendicant'>mendicant</a>
Further reading
- mend in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
- mend in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
- mend at OneLook Dictionary Search
This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.