countervail means to have the same value or number as. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 80 out of 100.
countervail is pronounced /ˈkaʊntəveɪl/.
Why “countervail” is a great word
COUNTERVAIL — [Verb] To act against something with equal force so as to counteract, neutralize, or offset its effect. From Anglo-Norman countrevaloir (Old French contrevaloir), from Latin contrā ("against") + valēre ("to be strong"). First attested in English in the late 14th century. Unlike "counterbalance," which suggests a static equilibrium of opposing weights, or "compensate," which implies making up for a loss through substitution, to countervail is an active, direct exertion of strength. It is the steady pressure of a levee against a flood, the cold logic deployed to quell a hot argument, or the deliberate weight of an argument built to halt a bad policy—a conscious application of force in the quiet war of balance.
Etymology
From Anglo-Norman countrevaloir (Old French contrevaloir), from Latin contrā valēre (“to be strong against”).
verb
- To have the same value or number as.“Nay could their numbers counteruaile the ſtars
Or [euer] driſling drops of April ſhowers,
Or withered leaues that Autume ſhaketh down,
Yet would the Souldane by his conquering power:
So ſcatter and conſume them in his rage,
That not a man ſhal liue to rue their fall.”
- To counter, counteract, counterbalance, neutralize, or negate.“It cannot counteruaile the exchange of joy / That one ſhort minute giues me in her ſight:”
- To compensate for.“I am one of those who thinke their fruit can no way countervaile this losse.”