Compensations

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Reparations or benefits offered to make up for deficits, hardships, or losses experienced by individuals in various contexts
2. Monetary or other forms of payment given to balance or make amends for harm or disadvantages experienced
3. Benefits or payments provided as a form of redress for injury, damage, or disadvantage

Etymology: The root idea is a set of scales. Latin "compensare" meant "to weigh together," from "com-" (together) and "pensare" (to weigh), itself a frequentative of "pendere," "to hang." A payment that compensates is one that is weighed against a loss until the two pans balance. "Compensations" is the plural of "compensation," so it names several such payments, or several kinds of recompense, given for distinct harms or disadvantages. The singular form came into English from Old French, which had taken it from the Latin noun.

Synonyms: reparations, remunerations, payments