Etymologically
Log in

compensatory

History Permalink

Etymology and origin of the English word compensatory

Confidence
Probable
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1601 Fulbecke, Parallele or Conference of the Law More words from the 17th century
Ultimate origin
Latin pendō
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
English compensate
English compensatory

Pronunciation

  • UK: /kɒmpɛnˈseɪtəɹi/, /kɒmˈpɛnsətəɹi/[1]
  • US: /kəmˈpɛnsəˌtɔɹi/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English compensate + -ory,[2][3][4][5] though Etymonline thinks it was probably borrowed from or modelled on French compensatoire,[6] which the OED also compares.[2] The adjective is recorded earlier than the verb, which the OED dates from 1646.[2] Compensate is from Latin compensātus, the past participle of compēnsō (“to weigh one thing against another, counterbalance”),[2][6] formed from com- (“together”) and pēnsō, the frequentative of pendō (“to hang; to weigh; to pay”).[6][2] Etymonline traces the Latin verb to Proto-Indo-European *(s)pen- (“to draw, stretch, spin”).[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Having the function of compensating, making up for something: 1601–2, in William Fulbecke's Parallele or Conference of the Civil Law, the Canon Law and the Common Law.[2] Etymonline dates it to about 1600, and Dictionary.com between 1595 and 1605.[6][5]

Semantic evolution

The general sense, serving to make amends or to make up for a loss, has been used since the start of the 17th century.[2][3] In 1921 E. J. Kempf's Psychopathology used it in psychology for behaviour that makes up for a felt weakness,[2][6] the sense of the compensatory mechanisms that Edward Sapir described as a way of overcoming a feeling of inferiority.[3] Merriam-Webster Unabridged also records it in medicine, of an organ that grows to make up for a weakness, and in economics, of government spending planned to smooth out the business cycle.[3]

Timeline

  • 1601 – serving to compensate; making amends.[2][6]
  • 1921 – in psychology, making up for a felt inferiority or weakness.[2][6]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Serving as compensation; making up for a loss, injury or lack: The airline made a compensatory payment for the delay.[3][2]
  2. (psychology) Relating to or aiming at compensation for a felt inferiority or weakness: compensatory boasting.[3][2]
  3. Of a change in the body, making up for a defect or loss elsewhere: a compensatory thickening of the heart wall.[3]
  4. (economics) Designed to offset swings in the business cycle through government spending and revenue.[3]

Word family

  • noncompensatory
  • compensatory lengthening

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ Gove, Philip Babcock, ed. (1961), Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam
  5. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
Cite this entry

“Compensatory.” Etymologically, 13 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/en/compensatory. Accessed 13 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·