countercomplaint

noun

A complaint raised in response to another complaint, and usually against the party that complained first

OriginEnglish complaint ← Middle English counter- ← Anglo-Norman countre- →
Scrabble 24
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Meanings

nouncountercomplaint (plural countercomplaints)

plural countercomplaints

  1. A complaint raised in response to another complaint, and usually against the party that complained first

    The latest agreement collapsed Tuesday, in a familiar cacophony of complaints and countercomplaints[…]

    2009 January 14, Andrew E. Kramer, “Gas Dispute Runs Deeper Than Pipes, Experts Say”, in New York Times

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*ḱe?
  2. Proto-Indo-European*ḱóm
  3. Proto-Italic*kom
  4. Proto-Italic*kom-
  5. Proto-Italic*komteros
  6. Proto-Italic*komterād
  7. Latincontrā
  8. Old Frenchcontre-
  9. Anglo-Normancountre-
  10. Middle Englishcounter-
  11. Englishcounter-
  12. Englishcomplaint
  13. Englishcountercomplaint

From counter- + complaint.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

countercomplaint. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/countercomplaint

MLA

“countercomplaint.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/countercomplaint. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “countercomplaint,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/countercomplaint.

Source: countercomplaint on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.