Commensurate

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /kəˈmɛnʃəɹət/

Definitions

1. Proportionate or corresponding in size, extent, amount, or degree to something else
2. Corresponding in size, degree, or duration to another entity
3. Having a relationship in quantity or quality that is proportional to a specific reference

Etymology: The Latin root of "commensurate" is "mensura," meaning "measure," the same source that gave English "measure" itself. Latin speakers combined it with "com-," meaning "together," to form "commensurare," roughly "to measure together with" something else. The idea was that two quantities could be judged against a single common standard. English borrowed the word in the 1600s, first in the form "commensurate," and it kept that original sense of having a shared measure. Something commensurate with a task is sized to match it, so the reward is commensurate with the effort. The word's core idea is still comparison by a common unit.

Synonyms: proportional, corresponding, equivalent, equal, adequate

Antonyms: incommensurate, disproportionate, unequal, inadequate, insufficient