Emily Dickinson Lexicon

MEND, v.t. [L. emendo; Fr. amender; It. mendare; from L. menda, a fault, spot or blemish. Mend is contracted from emendo, amend, for the L. negative e for ex, is necessary to express the removal of a fault.]

1. To repair, as a breach; to supply a part broken or defective; as, to mend a garment, a road, a mill-dam, a fence, &c.
2. To correct; to set right; to alter for the better; as, to mend the life or manners.
3. To repair; to restore to a sound state; as, to mend a feeble or broken constitution. Locke. 4. To help; to advance; to make better. This plausible apology does not mend the matter. Though in some lands the grass is but short, yet it mends garden herbs and fruit. Mortimer.
4. To improve; to hasten. He saw the monster mend his pace. Dryden.