pensate

Pensate is an English verb meaning to compensate, recompense, or balance a loss by giving something of value; it can also carry the sense of atoning or making amends. In contemporary usage, the term is largely archaic or literary. Most writers would use compensate, recompense, indemnify, or remunerate in modern contexts.

Etymology and history: Pensate derives from roots related to weighing or calculating value, tracing back to Latin pensare, meaning to weigh, and entering English through Old French and Middle English. The sense of balancing losses with payment developed from the notion of weighing value to determine an appropriate remedy or payment.

Usage notes: Because pensate is rare outside of historical, literary, or doctrinal texts, it is usually encountered in older writings or in discussions of etymology. When encountered, the noun form pensation may appear to denote the act or result of compensating, though this noun form is also uncommon today.

Related terms and modern equivalents: The verb compensate is the standard modern form. Other related terms include recompense, remunerate, indemnify, and atone. The concept commonly appears in legal, financial, and ethical discussions in the form of compensation for losses, damages, or harms.

See also: compensation, recompense, indemnity, remuneration, damages.