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Origin and history of recompense

recompense(n.)

early 15c., "compensation, payment for a debt or obligation; satisfaction, amends; retribution, punishment," from Medieval Latin recompensa and Old French recompense (13c., related to recompenser "make good, recompense"), from Late Latin recompensare (see recompense (v.)). The notion is "an equivalent or recompense for anything given," especially "reparation or restitution to another for some wrong done to him." Earlier in the same sense is recompensation (late 14c., from Late Latin).

also from early 15c.

recompense(v.)

c. 1400, recompensen, "to redress, provide as an equivalent," from Old French recompenser (14c.) and directly from Medieval Latin recompensare "to reward, remunerate," from Latin re- "again" (see re-) + compensare "balance out," etymologically "weigh together," from com "with, together" (see com-) + pensare, frequentative of pendere "to hang, cause to hang; weigh; pay" (from PIE root *(s)pen- "to draw, stretch, spin"). For the financial sense of the Latin verb, see pound (n.1).

By early 15c. specifically as "to compensate, pay for services rendered or for loss of property, rights, etc.; make amends for by some equivalent; dispense punishments or rewards." "The spelling -ence is more frequent than the etymological -ense ... until the 19th c." [OED]. Related: Recompensed; recompensing.

also from c. 1400

Entries linking to recompense

pound(n.1)

[fundamental unit of weight] Old English pund "pound" (in weight or money), also "pint," from Proto-Germanic *punda- "pound" as a measure of weight (source of Gothic pund, Old High German phunt, German Pfund, Middle Dutch pont, Old Frisian and Old Norse pund), an early borrowing from Latin pondo "pound," originally in libra pondo "a pound by weight," from pondo (adv.) "by weight," ablative of pondus "weight," from stem of pendere "to hang, cause to hang; weigh" (from PIE root *(s)pen- "to draw, stretch, spin"). Perhaps the notion is the weight of a thing measured by how much it stretches a cord.

Meaning "unit of money" was in Old English, originally "a (Tower) pound of silver."

In the Middle Ages it was reckoned variously: the Tower pound (12 ounces), the merchant's pound (15), the avoirdupois (16), the Troy (12); the 16-ounce pound was established before late 14c. Pound cake (1747) is so called because it has a pound, more or less, of each ingredient. Pound of flesh is from "Merchant of Venice" IV.i. The abbreviations lb., £ are from libra "pound," and reflect the medieval custom of keeping accounts in Latin (see Libra).

A peny yn seson spent wille safe a pounde. [Paston Letters, 1457]

*(s)pen-

Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to draw, stretch, spin."

It might form all or part of: append; appendix; avoirdupois; compendium; compensate; compensation; counterpoise; depend; dispense; equipoise; expend; expense; expensive; hydroponics; impend; painter (n.2) "rope or chain that holds an anchor to a ship's side;" pansy; penchant; pend; pendant; pendentive; pending; pendular; pendulous; pendulum; pension; pensive; penthouse; perpendicular; peso; poise; ponder; ponderous; pound (n.1) "measure of weight;" prepend; prepense; preponderate; propensity; recompense; span (n.1) "distance between two objects;" span (n.2) "two animals driven together;" spangle; spanner; spend; spider; spin; spindle; spinner; spinster; stipend; suspend; suspension.

It might also be the source of: Latin pendere "to hang, to cause to hang," pondus "weight" (perhaps the notion is the weight of a thing measured by how much it stretches a cord), pensare "to weigh, consider;" Greek ponos "toil," ponein "to toil;" Lithuanian spendžiu, spęsti "lay a snare;" Old Church Slavonic peti "stretch, strain," pato "fetter," pina "I span;" Old English spinnan "to spin," spannan "to join, fasten; stretch, span;" Armenian henum "I weave;" Greek patos "garment," literally "that which is spun;" Lithuanian pinu "I plait, braid," spandau "I spin;" Middle Welsh cy-ffiniden "spider;" Old English spinnan "draw out and twist fibers into thread," spiðra "spider," literally "spinner."