countertrade

C3O1U1N1T1E1R1T1R1A1D2E1

noun

Exchange of goods or services that are paid for, in whole or part, with other goods or services.

OriginEnglish trade ← Middle English trade ← Middle Low German trade →
Scrabble 15
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Meanings

nouncountertrade (countable and uncountable, plural countertrades)

plural countertrades

  1. countableuncountableinternational tradeExchange of goods or services that are paid for, in whole or part, with other goods or services.
verbcountertrade (third-person singular simple present countertrades, present participle countertrading, simple past and past participle countertraded)

present singular third person countertrades · participle present countertrading · participle past countertraded · past countertraded

  1. To engage in exchanges of this kind.

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. Proto-Indo-European*dreh₂-
  13. Proto-Germanic*tradō
  14. Proto-West Germanic*trudo
  15. Old Saxontrada
  16. Middle Low Germantrade
  17. Middle Englishtrade
  18. Englishtrade
  19. Englishcountertrade

From counter- + trade.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian разменна търговия
  • разменна търговия (razmenna tărgovija)International exchange of goods and services for others
Finnish vastakauppa
  • vastakauppaInternational exchange of goods and services for others
German Kompensationshandel
  • KompensationshandelInternational exchange of goods and services for others
Korean 연계무역
  • 연계무역 (yeon'gyemuyeok)International exchange of goods and services for others
Polish handel wymienny
  • handel wymiennyInternational exchange of goods and services for others
Russian встре́чная торго́вля
  • встре́чная торго́вля (vstréčnaja torgóvlja)International exchange of goods and services for others
Swedish motköp
  • motköpInternational exchange of goods and services for others
Ukrainian зустрі́чна торгі́вля
  • зустрі́чна торгі́вля (zustríčna torhívlja)International exchange of goods and services for others
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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