countervalue

Meanings

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

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

Etymology

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".