“Compromise” has been compromised

Add comment February 7th, 2009

The original sense of “compromise,” back in late Middle English, was “mutual consent to arbitration.” This is consistent with its Latin ancestor “compromittere,” which was derived from a combination of the prefix “com-,” meaning “together,” and the verb “promittere,” “to promise.”

The idea of cooperation to reach an agreement, of meeting someone halfway, is retained in the first three definitions in Webster’s for the noun. However, after this promising start, something happened along the way. ”Compromise” picked up additional meanings: “exposure, as of one’s reputation, to danger, suspicion or disrepute” and “a weakening, as of one’s principles.”

For the verb, only the first definition is the cooperative “to settle or adjust.” The other three are about exposure to danger, suspicion and the like and weakening or yielding.

This may be why so many people now seem to view compromise as surrender.

A word that once conveyed the idea of win-win now emphasizes what can be lost.