countervalue

Meanings

Verb

• To target an opponent's assets which are of value but not actually a military threat, such as cities and civilian populations.
• To make a counter estimate of something's value.

Adjective

• Targeting an opponent's assets which are of value but not actually a military threat, such as cities and civilian populations.

Origin

• From counter- + value. The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., records the first use of the word in 1660 and the first use in the modern sense in 1965, where it is described as a "euphemism for attacking cities".