mend vs amend

abc   Wed Jun 04, 2008 2:51 pm GMT
?
guest   Wed Jun 04, 2008 3:27 pm GMT
mend is more common and familiar.
amend means basically the same thing, but is more formal/official.

for instance, you mend nets, a broken heart, etc., but you amend the Constitution, make amends, etc.

basically, usage dictates which to use and when.
bubble   Wed Jun 04, 2008 3:42 pm GMT
I disagree.

to mend = to fix
to amend = to change, to alter, to qualify

Yes, you can mend nets and amend the Constitution, but you can also say "Let me amend that," which means "Let me qualify or alter what I just said"
(qualify in this case means add a clause or something that changes or limits the sense of a statement)

guest is however right in saying that amend is most often used in formal and legal contexts - amending the Constitution is probably the most common use, at least in the United States.

I feel like 'to make amends' is a different expression - it means to apologize and make up for wrongdoing.
guest   Wed Jun 04, 2008 5:46 pm GMT
<<"Let me amend that," >>

I would understand this as "Let me fix that". This would place it in bucket as 'amend', but oh well....
guest   Wed Jun 04, 2008 5:48 pm GMT
<<This would place it in bucket as 'amend', but oh well.... >>

I meant same bucket as 'mend'
guest   Wed Jun 04, 2008 5:52 pm GMT
also, 'to make amends' to me means 'to make repairs' (i.e. to repair, to fix) --in this context, repairs to a relationship.

Truly, it's all the same word. 'mend' is just a reduction of 'amend'
greg   Wed Jun 04, 2008 9:47 pm GMT
Au plan étymologique, le doublet An <amend> — An <mend> s'explique aisément par l'origine française de ces deux mots : l'alternance était déjà présente en ancien français et a été reprise telle quelle en moyen-anglais.


AF <amender> <amendre> <emender> <emendre> → MA <amenden>
« Som men wolde ►►►amende◄◄◄ þe translacioun of þe seventy by bookes of Hebrew, but þey durste not wiþ drawe what þe seventy hadde more þan þe Hebrewes. »


AF <mender> <mendre> → MA <menden>
« Haue a man neuere so miche mischef of houngur,
He may hit staunche wiþ mete & ►►►menden◄◄◄ his paine. »


AF = ancien français — MA = moyen-anglais
abc   Wed Jun 04, 2008 10:47 pm GMT
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