reparations

[ rep-uh-rey-shuhnz ]

plural noun

1. compensation in money, material, labor, etc., payable by a defeated country to another country or to an individual for loss suffered during or as a result of war:

   The U.S. government eventually disbursed reparations to Japanese Americans who had been interned during World War II.

2. monetary or other compensation payable by a country to an individual for a historical wrong:

   The article is about reparations to Black people for the enslavement of their ancestors.

Word History and Origins

Origin of reparations¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; plural of reparation ( def ) (in the sense of “something done or given to make amends”)

Example Sentences

Arguments for reparations have moved beyond whether they should be paid.

From Quartz

A quick glance at Hansard, the database of official transcripts of every debate in Parliament for the last 200 years, reveals reparations are a rarely discussed issue.

From Quartz

For nearly 30 years, there’s been a bill kicking around among Democrats in Congress to study and develop reparation proposals.

From Freakonomics

To Hamilton, a successful reparation program would need two major components.

From Freakonomics

The discussion of reparations for descendants of slaves saw some chatter this year after a piece in The Atlantic.

From The Daily Beast

There was a time when reparations for slavery was a hot issue in race discussions in America.

From The Daily Beast

We rightly condemn the Allied leaders of the 1920s for squeezing Germany so hard on reparations.

From The Daily Beast

His newest obsession is proving that Barack Obama is implicated in a “stealth reparations movement”.

From The Daily Beast

We were born rich; we revel in the "reparations" that our fathers wrung from a conquered Nature.

From Project Gutenberg

He suggested to me that I should make reparations to my wife by allowing her to divorce me!

From Project Gutenberg

Linked up with it also is that deep and grave problem of reparations.

From Project Gutenberg

Three other churches the Primate has also built, and done considerable reparations to the cathedral.

From Project Gutenberg

Note: Now was our Communion table placed altarwise; the church steeple, clock, and other reparations finished.

From Project Gutenberg

More About Reparations

What does reparations mean?

Reparations are forms of compensation provided to those who have suffered wrongdoing or to their descendants. The term is especially used to refer to payments made (or proposed to be made) in the aftermath of war, slavery, or other forms of wide-scale systemic injustice.

Reparations typically consist of monetary payments, but they can also consist of goods, materials, or reparatory actions intended to account for such damages or to address ongoing injustice.

War reparations are typically made by a defeated country to the country or countries considered the victors (often ultimately to individual citizens in those countries) for losses and damages that resulted from the war.

In the United States, reparations have been made to certain groups and proposed for others. Discussion of the topic often involves proposals to make reparations to people who have been the victims of brutal treatment and racist policies throughout U.S. history, including Native Americans and the Black Americans who are the descendants of the African people enslaved in the U.S.

Sometimes, the word reparations is thought to be inappropriate for the type of compensation sought by some groups, who may consider it a payment of an existing debt, rather than a form of restitution.

More generally, the singular form reparation is the act or process of making amends for wrongdoing. It can also refer to the act or process of repairing or the state of having been repaired.

Where does reparations come from?

The first records of the word reparation come from the second half of the 1300s. It ultimately derives from the Latin verb reparāre, meaning “to repair.” The first records of the word being used to refer to compensation for war damages come from around the end of World War I.

Reparations are intended to repair damages caused by war and injustice. Of course, lives cannot be restored, so the intent of reparations is to make some form of amends for the damage that has been done and continues to affect people. Reparations commonly take the form of monetary payments, but they can also consist of providing goods, industrial infrastructure, or other monetary arrangements, such as those involving stocks or the cancellation of debt.

After World War I, leaders from Britain, France, and the U.S. negotiated the Treaty of Versailles, which required Germany to pay extensive reparations for damages to civilian property. Reparations negotiated after World War II were paid out for decades, with some payments remaining outstanding more than 75 years after the end of the war. African organizations have called on nations in Western Europe and the Americas to pay reparations for the damages caused by their enslaving of African people.

In 1988, a U.S. law authorized reparations to Japanese Americans who were forced by the U.S. government to live in internment camps during World War II. The reparations consisted of a formal apology and a payment of $20,000 to each surviving person who had been detained.

The word reparations is frequently used in reference to proposals to address the legacy of slavery and the ongoing effects of racist institutions in the U.S., including Jim Crow laws, segregation, and other discriminatory policies that have affected and continue to affect African Americans. In 2019, a bill was introduced that would establish a commission to study the effects of such practices and propose reparations for them.

Did you know ... ?

What are some other forms related to reparations?

• reparation (singular)
• nonreparation (noun)

What are some words that share a root or word element with reparations? 

 

• reparatory
• reparative
• repair

What are some words that often get used in discussing reparations?

• slavery
• war
• payment
• restitution
• redress
• indemnification
• atonement
• compensation

How is reparations used in real life?

Reparations are most often discussed in the context of war, slavery, and other forms of injustice.

Ta-Nehisi Coates on the theft of resources from the black community and what forms reparations might take. https://t.co/xnovG2jATC

— The New Yorker (@NewYorker) June 22, 2020

Does your country support reparations for war crimes victims? Find out on the new #DemandJustice site http://t.co/hkRaInSC

— Amnesty International (@amnesty) July 17, 2012

California House advances reparations bill https://t.co/oCdKDj21ZN pic.twitter.com/Tx3m6gsbsZ

— The Hill (@thehill) June 14, 2020

Try using reparations!

True or False? 

Reparations only ever consist of monetary payments.