Guerdon

Part of speech: noun, verb

Pronunciation: /ˈɡəː.dən/

Definitions

1. A reward or recompense given in recognition of service, achievement, or merit
2. A payment or benefit bestowed upon someone as acknowledgment of their worthy deeds or accomplishments
3. Something given as compensation or recognition for services rendered or excellence demonstrated

Etymology: The surprising thing about "guerdon" is that its core meaning is literally "back-payment": the first half of the word is a West Germanic term for a reward returned to someone, in return for service or good conduct. Old High German "widarlōn" and Old English "wiþerlēan" both carried this sense, and the English word "wiðerlean" (later "wither-lean") survived in Old English as a term for requital, reward, or recompense. The word passed into Old French as "guerdon" and its variants, and during the Middle Ages Latin scribes wrote it as "widerdōnum." That Latin form is an alteration of an earlier "widerlōnum," with the second half reshaped to look like "dōnum," the Latin for "gift." The result is a word whose ancient German sense of paying back was gradually overlaid with the idea of giving freely, though the reward it names has always been earned. English took the word from Middle English and the Old French forms, and it retains that sense of a deserved recompense.

Synonyms: reward, recompense

Antonyms: punishment, penalty