The term is derived from the Latin ("Punctus Contra Punctus"), literally meaning "point against point" but in music it means the technique of combining two or more melodic successions of in such a way as to produce a meaningful whole. As opposed to the harmonic aspect of music in which the vertical combinations of notes are considered, in counterpoint it is the horizental aspect which is the main point of interest,or in other words the results obtained by combining two or more individual melodic lines.
Of course you never consider only one of the two aspects (harmony and counterpoint) as it is the combination of the two that produces the musical result (to which orchestration, dynamics, tempo etc. are to be added).
