compensatory
/kəmˈpensəˌtɔːɹi/kuhm-PEN-suh-taw-ree
UK form converted from the US by rule · unchecked/kəmˈpɛnsəˌtɔɹi/kuhm-PEN-suh-taw-ree
Meaningtending to compensate
Common meaning: making up for a loss
Tap a word part to explore
- comwith, together
- pensto weigh; to hangLewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), p. 1328 · scan
- atverb or adjective ending: to make, having
- oryadjective ending: having to do with
‘with, together’ + ‘to weigh’ → compensatory
Journey through time
- Latinpendō; pendeō‘to weigh’
- Englishcompensate‘to make up for a loss’
- Englishformed in English from compensatecompensatory‘making up for a loss’ · today
Sources & notes
Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
- No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
- US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
- No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.
Origin: Formed in English from compensate + -ory.
Dictionary: Skeat (1898), COMPENSATE, p.125 · scan
Roots
- pendō; pendeō Latin “to weigh; to hang”
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