Word of the Day

: September 25, 2007

commensurate

adjective kuh-MEN-suh-rut

What It Means

1 : equal in measure or extent : coextensive

2 : corresponding in size, extent, amount, or degree : proportionate

commensurate in Context

"Salary commensurate with experience," the job advertisement read.

Did You Know?

"Commensurate" is a word that really measures up. And no wonder -- it's a descendant of the Latin noun "mensura," meaning "measure," from "mensus," past participle of "metiri" ("to measure"). In the first recorded use of "commensurate," which comes from 1641, the adjective was used as a synonym of "coextensive." It didn't take long for "commensurate" to be used to mean "proportionate" as well. Henry James used this sense in The American when he wrote, "The stakes were high and the risk was great; the prize therefore must have been commensurate."

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.