READING, 900-PROOF

“Unto those Three Things which the Ancients held impossible, there should be added this Fourth, to find a Book Printed without errata.” - Alfonso de Cartagena

These past few days I have been very busy proof-reading endless sheaves of my text. This is on top of my ordinary work and generally this proofing takes place in the evening, at night and early hours of the morning. I am up to Chapter 18 out of a total of 24 chapters and the end seems to be nearer, although the last few chapters are the longest… In any case I shall be glad to finish this task and come that one step closer to the published book. It looks as though it will have about 900 pages, so it’s not something to be scoffed at.

Predictably, my word for this Word Thursday:

proofread |ˈproōfˌrēd| (also proof-read) verb ( past and past part. -read |-ˌred|) [ trans. ]
Read (printer's proofs or other written or printed material) and mark any errors.
DERIVATIVES
proofreader noun
ORIGIN: Middle English preve, from Old French proeve, from late Latin proba, from Latin probare ‘to test, prove.’ The change of vowel in late Middle English was due to the influence of prove. Current senses of the verb date from the late 19th century + Old English rǣdan, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch raden and German raten ‘advise, guess.’ Early senses included [advise] and [interpret (a riddle or dream)].

Jacqui BB hosts Word Thursday, visit her blog for more words!