compenser

Forms

compenser^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin compēnsō (“to weigh together, counterbalance”),^[2][3][4] formed from com- (“together”) and pēnsō (“to weigh”).^[1][3][5] Bloch and Wartburg take the literal sense to be “to weigh together in order to compare”.^[4] The Latin verb is also the source of penser and peser.^[3][5]

Cognate with Italian compensare, Spanish compensar and Portuguese compensar.^[6][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

A form compensar is recorded in the Dauphiné in the early 13th century, in a translation of the Code of Justinian, meaning “to balance”.^[2][3] The French form first appears in 1277, in a letter of Edward I: ne compenser a dettes que nous lui devoms “nor set off against debts that we owe him”.^[8][2] The Grand Robert glosses this first use as “to settle a debt”.^[5]

Semantic evolution

The verb first kept the Latin sense “to balance”, which was soon narrowed in law and finance: compenser les dépens (about 1395) is said of a court that leaves each party to bear its own costs.^[2][3][7] In Middle French it could also mean “to weigh in one's mind, consider”.^[9] From the late 15th century it meant “to make up for (a loss), indemnify”.^[2][5]

The modern sense, offsetting one effect by an opposite one, gave rise to technical uses from the late 19th century, in medicine (1877) and in psychology (1913).^[3] The past participle compensé is used in pathology from 1913, in Proust,^[2] and semelles compensées “wedge soles” are recorded in 1953.^[2][3]

Timeline

• early 13th century – Compensar “to balance” is recorded in the Dauphiné.^[2][3]
• 1277 – Compenser appears in a letter of Edward I.^[2][4]
• c. 1395 – Compenser les dépens is found in Boutillier's Somme rurale.^[2]
• late 15th century – Compencer means “to indemnify”.^[2]
• 1832 – The present participle is used as an adjective.^[2]
• 1877 – A medical use appears.^[3]
• 1913 – Psychological use, and compensé in pathology (Proust).^[3][2]
• 1953 – Semelles compensées “wedge soles” is recorded.^[2]

Meanings

Verb

1. To offset or counterbalance one effect, usually a harmful one, by an opposite one: compenser la fatigue par une longue sieste.^[10][11][12]
2. (intransitive) Pour compenser: to make up for it.^[11][10]
3. To compensate for, make good (a loss or damage).^[12][7]
4. (law) To set off (a debt) against another, compenser les dépens: to order each party to bear its own costs.^[7][11]
5. (technical) To adjust (an instrument) so that opposing effects or variations cancel out.^[11]
6. Se compenser: to balance each other out.^[10][7]

Word family

• compensateur
• compensable
• compensatoire
• décompenser

Related words

• compensation
• penser
• peser
• Latin compēnsō

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ a b c d Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
7. ^ a b c d e Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ Godefroy, Frédéric (1881–1902), Dictionnaire de l'ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IXe au XVe siècle, 10 vols., Paris: Vieweg / Bouillon
9. ^ Dictionnaire du Moyen Français, version 2015 (DMF 2015), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/dmf
10. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
11. ^ a b c d Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
12. ^ a b Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)