Definition: verb to put in writing : frame 2: to select or adapt (as by obscuring or removing sensitive information) for publication or release; broadly : edit

Quotation:

How do we handle the demands of government secrecy or the need for judicial discretion to conceal passages of text that ordinary mortals are not allowed to read? … Enter the verb redact. Its original meaning was “to make ready for publication,” as in a 1432 tract praising the emperor Pompey for his willingness to “redacte the lawes in to bokes,” and centuries later to improving royal proclamations. It still carries the meaning of “to edit,” but now narrows it to “remove from the general view.”

- from “On Language”, William Safire’s excellent column in The New York Times Magazine

“Redacted” is plastered all over documents from the Facebook trial I was perusing. Apparently ConnectU, a woebegone online dating site for Harvard students, hired Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook’s founder) to do programming for the site. Their charge is that Zuckboy shirked his duties and spent all his time coding what would later become facebook.com. Notable documents from the case include Zuckface’s college application and entries from his online diary. Check it all out in the 02138 article. “Redacted” is stamped numerous times to indicate that the documents have been modified for release in the court. I guess that includes his SAT score…couldn’t find that anywhere.