Etymograph

English

compensatory

Compensatory comes from French compenser ‘to compensate for, to offset’, and goes back to Latin pensō ‘to weigh’.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpensō1‘to weigh’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcompēnsāre1
  3. Frenchc. 1600–presentcompenser2‘to compensate for, to offset’
  4. Frenchc. 1600–presentcompensatoire3
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1978compensatory3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, French compenser
  2. 2 Wiktionary, French compensatoire
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English compensatory
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1978, 1976, Leszek Kołakowski: “As long as the oppressed class does not possess…”.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpensōWiktionary, French compenser‘to weigh’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcompēnsāreWiktionary, French compenser
  3. Frenchc. 1600–presentcompenserWiktionary, French compensatoire‘to compensate for, to offset’
  4. Frenchc. 1600–presentcompensatoireWiktionary, English compensatory
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1978compensatoryWiktionary, English compensatory. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1978, 1976, Leszek Kołakowski: “As long as the oppressed class does not possess…”

Linked words

through Latin pensō ‘to weigh’

dispensation, pensive, recompense, 7 more

Today it means

adj Intended to recompense someone who has experienced loss, suffering, or injury.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “compensatory”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for French compenser, French compensatoire. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Latin pensō / compensatory

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