Counterstrokes

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Retaliatory blows or attacks delivered in response to an enemy's assault ; lines drawn in the reverse direction to shade or contrast with earlier strokes
2. Opposing strikes launched in return against an attacker ; hatching or cross-marks made against the grain in engraving or drawing to add shading
3. Answering attacks that hit back at an opponent ; reverse-direction marks used in art and printing to create contrast and depth

Etymology: "Counterstrokes" is simply the plural of "counterstroke", so it is the form of a noun formed from "counter-" and "stroke". The prefix "counter-" comes from Old French "contre", meaning "against" or "opposite", which itself descends from Latin "contra" with the same sense. Attached to "stroke", it describes a blow or movement that answers an earlier one in the opposite direction. The two senses of the noun grow out of the same idea. A military counterstroke is a blow returned against an attacking enemy, while in drawing and engraving it is a line cut or drawn against the direction of earlier lines, used to build shading or contrast. Both uses rest on "stroke" in its older sense of a single blow or a single mark made by a hand.

Synonyms: counterattack, riposte, counteroffensive, retaliation, reprisal