Contraster

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Something that stands out sharply against its surroundings or another thing, making differences more visible or pronounced
2. An object or element that throws its qualities into relief by being placed beside something unlike it, thereby emphasizing distinctions
3. A person or thing that displays contrasting characteristics and thereby accentuates or clarifies the differences between compared items

Etymology: Its core is the Latin "stare," "to stand," joined to "contra," "against." Late Latin combined these into "contrastare," "to stand against" or "to resist," and Italian kept that sense as "contrastare," meaning to oppose or clash. French then took it up as "contraster," which is the form English borrowed. In English the verb is now mostly known through its noun-derived cousin "contrast," which came from the same French and Italian line. The verb "contraster" is a rare, mostly archaic form, and it keeps the older idea of standing opposed to something more visibly than the modern verb does.