An opposing influence or force that balances or counteracts the power of something else, especially in systems of governance or social dynamics.
From counter- + sway (meaning influence or control). Sway comes from Old Norse sveigja meaning 'to bend.' The compound emerged in political discourse around the 17th-18th centuries to describe checks and balances.
Countersway is basically what the Constitution's checks and balances do—the judicial countersways the executive, the legislative countersways the judicial. Without it, one branch would just... sway... all of us!
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