Makeweight

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An item placed on a scale to complete the necessary total weight ; a person or thing included merely to fill a role or satisfy a requirement
2. Something added to balance a scale to the desired heaviness ; a minor or insignificant person brought in to round out a group
3. An object used to make up the difference in weight needed ; an unimportant addition or participant serving only as a filler

Etymology: "Makeweight" is a plain compound of "make" and "weight," and its original sense is literal: something added to a scale to bring it up to the required amount. A merchant short of the agreed weight would throw in a little extra, and the extra was the makeweight. The word then moved from the balance to everyday talk, where it came to mean something added to fill out a deal or a list, usually of little real value. The figurative use is the one most people now meet, as in a minor player brought onto a team or a trivial item tacked onto an offer to make it look more generous. The sense of padding a whole with something inessential is what keeps the word in common use, even though its roots lie in the weighing of goods.

Synonyms: filler, padding, stopgap