compensate

 
Pronunciation: /ˈkɒmpɛnseɪt/

verb

  • 1 [with object] give (someone) something, typically money, in recognition of loss, suffering, or injury incurred; recompense: payments were made to farmers to compensate them for cuts in subsidies
  • pay (someone) for work performed: he will be richly compensated for his efforts
  • 2 [no object] (compensate for) reduce or counteract (something unwelcome or unpleasant) by exerting an opposite force or effect: the manager is hoping for victory to compensate for the team’s dismal league campaign
  • act so as to neutralize or correct (a deficiency or abnormality in a physical property or effect): the output voltage rises, compensating for the original fall

Derivatives

compensative

adjective

compensator

noun

Origin:

mid 17th century (in the sense 'counterbalance'): from Latin compensat- 'weighed against', from the verb compensare, from com- 'together' + pensare (frequentative of pendere 'weigh')