Comeuppance

/kəˈʌpəns/ noun

Definition

The punishment or fate that someone deserves, especially used when someone finally receives negative consequences for their actions.

Etymology

From the phrasal verb 'come up' + '-ance' (suffix forming nouns), literally 'what comes up to someone,' evolving to mean 'deserved punishment' by the 1800s.

Kelly Says

The phrase 'get one's comeuppance' became wildly popular in crime fiction and Westerns—it's the linguistic equivalent of poetic justice, mixing action verbs with Old French suffixes.

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