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recompenso

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word recompenso

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
551
Ultimate origin
Latin compēnsō
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin penso
French peser
Italian pensare
French penser
Latin compenso
Latin recompenso
From the same root
Latin dispenso ← penso
Latin pensito ← penso
English recompense ← compenso

Forms

recompēnsō (present infinitive recompēnsāre, perfect active recompēnsāvī); first conjugation[1][2]

Etymology

It is from Latin re- + compēnsō (“to balance, make good”).[1][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is a Late Latin word.[3] The earliest dated use the TLL cites is a papyrus of 551, in which the writers promise to make amends to others out of the revenues of the church; it also cites Pseudo-Origen on Job and Cassiodorus.[1]

Semantic evolution

The TLL defines it as making up for something or balancing it, the prefix only stressing the idea of giving back.[1] Gregory the Great uses it of God rewarding people for converting souls,[1] and an ancient gloss equates it with reddere and retribuere.[1]

In Medieval Latin it meant to pay back, to give as a reward, to make up for a loss or a misdeed, and to balance one thing against another;[5][6] Niermeyer and the DMLBS also give the sense “to weigh in the mind, think over”.[6][5] English took it in about 1400 as recompense, from Old French and directly from Medieval Latin.[4] It also survives in Italian ricompensare.[3]

Timeline

  • 551 – A papyrus promises to compensate others from church revenues.[1]
  • c. 485–c. 580 AD – Cassiodorus uses it.[1][7]
  • 540–604 AD – Gregory the Great uses it of repaying and rewarding.[1][7]
  • 639–709 AD – Aldhelm uses it of the reward of eternal life.[5][7]
  • c. 1400 – English recompense appears.[4]

Meanings

Verb

  1. (Late Latin) To repay, give in return; to compensate.[1]
  2. (Late Latin) To reward, requite.[1][5]
  3. (Medieval Latin) To make up for a loss or damage; to make amends for a misdeed.[5][6]
  4. (Medieval Latin) To balance, serve as an equivalent for.[5]
  5. (Medieval Latin) To weigh in the mind, think over.[6][5]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  2. ^ Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  3. ^ a b c Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b c d Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  7. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Cite this entry

“Recompenso.” Etymologically, 24 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/recompenso. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·