mend  (m ĕnd)
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v. mend·ed, mend·ing, mends v.tr.1. To make repairs or restoration to; fix. 2. To reform or correct: mend one's ways. v.intr.1. a. To improve in health or condition: The patient is mending well. b. To heal: The bone mended in a month. 2. To make repairs or corrections. n.1. The act of mending: did a neat mend on the sock. 2. A mended place: You can't tell where the mend is. Idioms: mend fences To improve poor relations, especially in politics: "Whatever thoughts he may have entertained about mending some fences with [them] were banished" (Conor Cruise O'Brien). on the mend Improving, especially in health.
[Middle English menden, short for amenden, to amend; see AMEND.]
menda·ble adj. mender n. |
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Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices
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