verb

compensate

KAHM-pun-sayt/ˈkɑːmpenseɪt/

To provide something that offsets work, loss, or disadvantage.

The shopkeeper compensates the customer for the broken pot with a replacement.

Black shopkeeper gives customer replacement ceramic pot beside accidentally broken one.

Etymology

comLatintogether

+pensLatinto weigh

+ateLatinparticipial ending

The image is weighing one thing against another until they balance. Compensating extends that image to providing something of equal value to counterbalance loss, harm, or effort.

In context

N. Stephan Kinsella37:53

Well, if you get a 100 billion in increased value and you take 10 billion of that to compensate the people who have been expropriated, then they’re no worse off.

Kinsella on Liberty-KOL237-Intellectual Nonsense: Fallacious Arguments for IP—Part 2 Libertopia 2012

More examples

The company compensates employees for working overtime.
The airline compensated us for our lost luggage.
The apartment's low rent compensates for its small size.

Forms

compensate · compensates · compensated · compensating

compensation noun — Payment or something that offsets a loss.

compensatory adjective — Intended to offset a loss or disadvantage.

Similar words

pay: Specifically gives money, usually for work, goods, or services.
reimburse: Pays back expenses rather than rewarding work or offsetting disadvantages.
offset: Counterbalances a disadvantage without necessarily providing payment or reward.