Counterchanged

Part of speech: adjective, verb

Definitions

1. Involving a pattern or design where colors or elements are reversed from their usual positions
2. Featuring a scheme where contrasting tones are swapped to create visual interest
3. Characterized by an arrangement where elements are arranged in a way that alternates or interchanges colors or designs

Etymology: "Counterchanged" is a heraldic term, used of a shield or charge divided into fields whose tinctures (colours) are reversed from one side to the other, so that each area of one colour meets an area of the other. The word is built from "counter-", here meaning "opposite" or "in return", and "changed", the past participle of "change," which came into English from Old French "changier," ultimately from Latin "cambiare," to exchange or barter. Put together, the sense is literal: the colours have been exchanged, each taking the other's place. The compound is transparent in form, but its specialist use belongs to the vocabulary of heraldry, where precise colour description was essential for identifying coats of arms.