Counterpart
nounA person or thing that holds an equivalent position or function to another in a different place or organisation.
How to spell counterpart
11 letters · 3 syllables
How to pronounce counterpart
Say the part in capitals loudest.
What does counterpart mean?
- nounA person or thing that holds an equivalent position or function to another in a different place or organisation.
Counterpart in a sentence
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The finance minister met her American counterpart in Washington.
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Our software lacks the safety feature its European counterpart includes.
Where does counterpart come from?
Language of origin: French
This word grew out of the Old French legal phrase 'contre-partie', literally 'counter-part', which named the matching duplicate of a legal document. When two parties signed an agreement, each kept a copy, and one was the 'counterpart' of the other, an exact corresponding twin. The 'counter' element comes from the Latin contra, meaning 'against' or 'opposite', the same root that gives us 'contradict' and 'encounter', while 'part' comes from the Latin pars, meaning 'a portion or share'. English adopted the term in the fifteenth century, and it gradually broadened from documents to any person or thing that corresponds to another in a different place or system. The spelling stays transparent once you see it as 'counter' plus 'part', so there is no hidden trap beyond remembering it is one solid word.
How the word is built
- counter- (corresponding, opposite, from Latin contra 'against')
- part (a portion or piece, from Latin pars)
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