bowdlerize
bowd·le·rize
verb
1.
edit by omitting or modifying parts considered indelicate
- “bowdlerize a novel”
Origin
From Bowdler + -ize; named after English physician Thomas Bowdler (1754-1825). In 1818, he published a censored version of William Shakespeare (The Family Shakespeare), expurgating “those words and expressions […] which cannot with propriety be read aloud in a family.”
Related words
Broader terms
WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.