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counterpart

noun, verb — 6 senses

counterpart

noun

UK /ˈkaʊntəˌpɑːt/ · US /ˈkaʊntɚˌpɑɹt/

Etymology From Middle English conterpart, countre parte (“duplicate of a legal document”), equivalent to counter- + part. Compare Old French contrepartie, itself from contre (“facing, opposite”) (from Latin contra (“against”)) + partie (“copy of a person or thing”) (originally past participle of partīre (“to divide”)).

1

Either of two parts that fit together or otherwise complement one another.

  • Near-synonyms: complement, mate
  • Those brass knobs and their hollow counterparts interlock perfectly.
1 more example
  • Mr. Obama never found a generational counterpart among conservatives in Congress like Paul D. Ryan or Eric Cantor; instead, there was a mutual animosity.2012 November 7, Matt Bai, “Winning a Second Term, Obama Will Confront Familiar Headwinds”, in New York Times:
2

Law A duplicate of a legal document.

3

One who or that which resembles another.

4

One who or that which has corresponding functions or characteristics.

  • Near-synonyms: (each contextually synonymous) opposite number, counterparty, opponent, homolog, homotype, equivalent, partner, vis-à-vis
  • Her French counterpart attended the meeting via video call.
3 more examples
  • The two companies are working together with their respective counterparts in Asia.
  • Its incompleteness in this respect makes the timetable of less value than some of its Continental counterparts, such as the French Horaires Mayeux; nevertheless, it is fair value at 5s.1962 July, “Talking of Trains: The new all-line timetable”, in Modern Railways, page 10:
  • England's attacking impetus was limited to one shot from Lampard that was comfortably collected by keeper Iker Casillas, but for all Spain's domination of the ball his England counterpart Joe Hart was unemployed.2011 November 12, “International friendly: England 1-0 Spain”, in BBC Sport:
5

Biology, History, Human sciences, Natural sciences, Paleontology, Sciences Either half of a flattened fossil when the rock has split along the plane of the fossil.

Synonyms
counterpart, parallel
Derived terms
counterpart theory
Related terms
counterbalance, counterpoint, countersign, counterweight, alter ego, spitting image, decoy, substitute
Hyponyms
dead ringer, doppelganger, evil twin, opposite number

counterpart

verb

Etymology From Middle English conterpart, countre parte (“duplicate of a legal document”), equivalent to counter- + part. Compare Old French contrepartie, itself from contre (“facing, opposite”) (from Latin contra (“against”)) + partie (“copy of a person or thing”) (originally past participle of partīre (“to divide”)).

1

To counterbalance.

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.