compensation English · revision 5933

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1387|origins=la compensatio}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ˌkɒm.pənˈseɪ.ʃən/, US /ˌkɑːm.pənˈseɪ.ʃən/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English compensacioun, through Old French from [[la|compēnsātiō|t=a weighing of one thing against another, a balancing]] (accusative compensationem),^(Etymonline)^(Klein 1966)^(NODE 1998) a noun of action from the past participle stem of [[m|la|compēnsāre|t=to weigh one thing against another, counterbalance]] (see [[compensate]]),^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) from com “with, together” and pēnsāre, a frequentative of pendere “to hang, weigh, pay”,^(Etymonline) from the PIE root [[ine-pro|*(s)pen-|t=to draw, stretch, spin]].^(Etymonline) Compare [[pendant]] and [[pension]].^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The action of compensating or the condition of being compensated: 1387 in the OED, the late 14th century in Etymonline.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ What is given in recompense or as an equivalent is from about 1600, 1610 in the OED,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and amends for loss or damage from 1804.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) Salary or wages, especially of a public servant, is American English from 1787.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) In mechanics the balancing of opposing forces is from 1789,^(OED 1989) in medicine the making up by one organ for a defect in another from 1866,^(OED 1989)^(AHD) and in psychology the concealing of a weakness by stressing another trait from 1914.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1387 – the action of compensating.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1600 – a recompense.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1787 – salary, wages, in America.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1789 – in mechanics.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1804 – amends for damage.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1914 – in psychology.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # Money or something else given to make up for loss, injury or damage.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(chiefly US)'' Payment for work; [[salary]] or wages.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # The act of compensating, or of making amends.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(psychology)'' Hiding or making up for a weakness by developing or stressing another trait.^(Collins 2023)^(OED 1989)

+ # ''(biology)'' The increased activity of one part of an organism that makes up for a loss or defect in another.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[compensational]]

+ * [[noncompensation]]

+ * [[overcompensation]]

+ * [[decompensation]]

+ * [[precompensation]]

+ * [[workers' compensation]]

+ * [[compensation neurosis]]

+ * [[workmen's compensation]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[compensate]]

+ * [[compensatory]]

+ * [[pension]]

+ * [[pendant]]

+ * [[pensive]]

+ * [[recompense]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}