countercity en · ADJ
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ḱe? Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm Proto-Italic *kom Proto-Italic *kom- Proto-Indo-European *-teros Proto-Italic *-teros Proto-Italic *komterosder. Proto-Italic *komterād Latin contrāder. Old French contre- Anglo-Norman countre-bor. Middle English counter- English counter- Proto-Indo-European *ḱey-der. Proto-Italic *keiwis Latin ceivis Proto-Indo-European *-teh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-ts Proto-Indo-European *-teh₂ts Proto-Italic *-tāts Latin -tās Latin ceivitās Late Latin cīvitātem (city) Old French citetbor. Middle English cite English city English countercity From counter- + city.
Meanings
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(not-comparable) Targeting a city.
A countercity strike would be a direct and intentional attack against noncombatants, representing a violation of noncombatant immunity on a mass scale—this besides the disproportionality of the destruction such a countercity strike would entail.
1982, Military Chaplains' Review, volumes 132-135: