countervail

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   to offset, compensate for, or neutralize the effect of something

   A strong sense of duty countervailed his fear of entering the damaged building.

2. 2
   verb

   archaic: to equal or match something in value, force, or number

   No promised reward could countervail the losses the expedition had suffered.

From Middle English countrevailen and Anglo-Norman countrevaloir, from contre-, 'against,' + valoir, 'to be worth,' ultimately Latin contra + valere, 'to be strong or be worth.' The older sense was to equal in value; the modern sense is to oppose or offset an effect.

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