Requital

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ɹɪˈkwaɪt.əl/

Definitions

1. A return or repayment given in response to something received, whether as reward for a favor or punishment for a wrong
2. an act of returning something equivalent in exchange for a prior action or treatment
3. a response that matches or balances a preceding deed through retaliation or reward

Etymology: Requital is a close cousin of "requite," which came into English from Latin "requirere" through Old French, with the sense of paying back. The "-al" ending is a suffix that English added to "requite" to turn it into a noun for the act of repaying. That suffix has its own long road: it descends from Latin "-ālis," which passed through Old French in forms like "-al" and "-el" before settling into Middle English as "-al." The first recorded use in English dates to 1545, and the word has stayed close to its original sense ever since. Its meaning is plain: an act of giving something back equivalent to what was received, whether a kindness or an injury. Requital is a simple formation rather than a word with a dramatic shift, so its story lies mainly in how a common Latin-derived verb gave rise to a noun through an ordinary English suffix.

Synonyms: recompense, reward, retaliation

Antonyms: penalty