Compensation
late Middle English: via Old French from Latin compensatio(n- ), from the verb compensare ‘weigh against’ (see compensate).
wiktionary
From Middle English compensacioun, from Old French compensacion, from Latin compensātiōnem, accusative singular of compensātiō.
etymonline
compensation (n.)
late 14c., "action of compensating," from Latin compensationem (nominative compensatio) "a weighing one thing against another, a balancing," noun of action from past participle stem of compensare "to weigh one thing (against another)," thus, "to counterbalance," 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").
Meaning "what is given in recompense" is from c. 1600; meaning "amends for loss or damages" is from 1804; meaning "salary, wages" is attested from 1787, American English. The psychological sense is from 1914.
