編集
へんしゅう · henshuu · JLPT N2 · noun
editing
📝 編 (weave/compile) + 集 (gather) = gather and weave text into one finished piece
編 means to weave or string together, as in bamboo slips bound into a book. 集 means to collect. Editing gathers scattered material and binds it into order, which is how a 編集 team works.
集 — bird 隹 on top of tree 木
集 is an ideograph showing a bird (隹) perched on a tree (木). The original form depicted three birds gathering on a tree, later simplified to one. From 'birds flocking together' it extended to mean 'gather, collect, assemble,' and by extension 'collection' or 'volume' of writings.