Compensatory damages

Etymology

From "compensatory" (Latin "compensare," to weigh one thing against another) and "damages" (Latin "damnum," loss, harm). The name states the goal: to weigh the loss and pay an equal counterweight, restoring the injured party to where they stood before the harm.

noun phrase · /kum-PEN-suh-tor-ee DAM-ij-iz/
Money awarded in a lawsuit to cover a plaintiff’s actual, measurable losses.
What it names
The make-you-whole part of a judgment — repayment for real harm — as opposed to any additional penalty.
Example
The compensatory damages covered her medical bills and lost wages, but the jury added far more in punitive damages.
Related idea
Compensatory damages repay actual loss to restore the plaintiff; punitive damages go beyond loss to punish the defendant and deter others — one measures the victim’s injury, the other the wrongdoer’s conduct.