contra

See also: Contra, contrà, and contra-

English

Etymology

Ultimately from Latin contrā.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkɒntɹə/

Preposition

contra

1. against; contrary or opposed to; in opposition or contrast to

Synonyms

• against, anti

Antonyms

• for, pro

Translations

against, contrary or opposed to

• Bulgarian: против (bg) (protiv)
• German: gegen (de), im Gegensatz zu m, contra (de), anti, wider (de)

• Old English: aġēn
• Tagalog: kontra

Adverb

contra (comparative more contra, superlative most contra)

1. contrary to something

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:contrarily

Translations

contrary to something

• Arabic: عَلَى اَلْعَكْس‎ (ʿalā l-ʿaks), عَلَى اَلنَّقِيض مِن‎ (ʿalā n-naqīḍ min), ضِد‎ (ḍid)

  Egyptian Arabic: عكس‎ (ʿakss), ضد‎ (ḍeḍ)

• Bulgarian: напротив (bg) (naprotiv), наопаки (bg) (naopaki)

• German: gegen (de), im Gegensatz zu m, contra (de), gegnerisch (de), gegengesetzt, entgegengesetzt (de)
• Romanian: împotrivă (ro), contra (ro)

Noun

contra (plural contras)

1. (business) A deal to swap goods or services.
2. (politics, derogatory) A conservative; originally tied to Nicaraguan counter-revolutionaries.
3. (accounting) An entry (or account) that cancels another entry (or account).

   a contra position; a contra entry

   The sum for each contra account is shown in the last column.

4. (music, informal) Any of the musical instruments in the contrabass range, e.g. contrabassoon, contrabass clarinet or, especially, double bass.
5. (dance) A contra dance.
6. (obsolete, US, New England, dance) A country dance.
   • 2001, The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music: North America. Garland Publishing. Ellen Koskoff (Ed.). Pg. 232.

     Folk histories record that contras were gradually displaced by the introduction of the quadrille and the new couple dances.

Translations

(business) a deal to swap goods or services

(accounting) an entry (or account) that cancels another entry

• German: Gegenkonto (de) n, Gegenbuchung f, Gegenposition f, Gegenrechnung f, Kreditseite f

(dance) a contra dance

• German: Contra Tanz m, Kontratanz m

Verb

contra (third-person singular simple present contras, no present participle, no simple past or past participle)

1. (accounting) To undo; to reverse.

   to contra a position (an entry)

Translations

(accounting) to undo an entry

• German: zurückbuchen, ristornieren, stornieren (de)

Anagrams

• Cantor, Carnot, Carton, Catron, TRACON, cantor, carton, corant, craton, tracon

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Asturian

Etymology

From Latin contrā.

Preposition

contra

1. against

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Catalan

Etymology

From Latin contrā.

Pronunciation

• (Balearic, Central) IPA^(key): /ˈkɔn.tɾə/
• (Valencian) IPA^(key): /ˈkon.tɾa/

Adverb

contra

1. against
   • 2009, Jean Grave, Les Aventures d'en Nono:

     Més endavant, va parlar contra la gent sense família

     But before, he spoke against people without family

Noun

contra m (plural contres)

1. con (disadvantage)

   Antonym: pro

Related terms

• contra-
• contrari

Further reading

• “contra” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “contra” in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana.
• “contra” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “contra” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

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Dalmatian

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Adverb

contra

1. against

References

• Bartoli, Matteo Giulio, Il Dalmatico: Resti di un’antica lingua romanza parlata da Veglia a Ragusa e sua collocazione nella Romània appenino-balcanica, Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana, 1906, published 2000

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Finnish

Noun

contra

1. Contra (anti-Sandinista fighter)

Declension

Inflection of contra (Kotus type 10/koira, no gradation)
nominative		contra	contrat
genitive		contran	contrien
partitive		contraa	contria
illative		contraan	contriin
		singular	plural
nominative		contra	contrat
accusative	nom.	contra	contrat
	gen.	contran
genitive		contran	contrien contrainrare
partitive		contraa	contria
inessive		contrassa	contrissa
elative		contrasta	contrista
illative		contraan	contriin
adessive		contralla	contrilla
ablative		contralta	contrilta
allative		contralle	contrille
essive		contrana	contrina
translative		contraksi	contriksi
instructive		—	contrin
abessive		contratta	contritta
comitative		—	contrineen

Possessive forms of contra (type koira)
possessor	singular	plural
1st person	contrani	contramme
2nd person	contrasi	contranne
3rd person	contransa

Synonyms

• contrasissi

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French

Verb

contra

1. third-person singular past historic of contrer

Anagrams

• carton

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Galician

Etymology

From Latin contrā.

Preposition

contra

1. against

Noun

contra f (plural contras)

1. (usually in the plural) shutter

Further reading

• “contra” in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega, Royal Galician Academy.

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Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkontra/, [ˈkon̪.t̪r̺ä]
• Hyphenation: cón‧tra
• Rhymes: -ontra

Etymology 1

From Latin contrā.

Adverb

contra

Preposition

contra

1. Obsolete form of contro.

See also

• contrapposto

Etymology 2

Inflected form of contrare

Verb

contra

1. third-person singular present indicative of contrare
2. second-person singular imperative of contrare

Anagrams

• tronca

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Ladin

Etymology

From Latin contrā.

Preposition

contra

1. against

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Latin

Etymology

From Proto-Italic *komterād, abl.sg.f. of *komteros (“the other of the two who meet, opposite”). The abl.sg.m./n. of the same is continued in Latin contrō-, cognate to Oscan contrud. Ultimately a suffixed form of Latin cum, Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm (“next to, at, with, along”), like intrā from in, extrā from ex, but unlike these lacking external cognates, and therefore of Italic origin.

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈkon.traː/, [ˈkɔn̪t̪ɾäː]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈkon.tra/, [ˈkɔn̪t̪ɾɑ]

Adverb

contrā

1. against
2. opposite to
3. contrary to
4. otherwise
5. in return, back

Preposition

contrā (+ accusative)

1. against
2. across from, opposite

Derived terms

• contrārius

Descendants

• Albanian: kundër
• Asturian: contra
• Catalan: contra
• Dalmatian: cuantra
• English: contra, contrary, counter
• French: contre
• Friulian: cuintri
• Galician: contra
• Hungarian: kontra
• Italian: contro
• Ladin: contra
• Occitan: contra
• Polish: kontra
• Portuguese: contra
• Romanian: către, contra
• Sicilian: contra
• Spanish: contra
• Swedish: kontra
• Venetian: contra

Further reading

• contra in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short, A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1879
• contra in Charlton T. Lewis, An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers, 1891
• contra in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition, 1883–1887)
• contra in Gaffiot, Félix, Dictionnaire illustré Latin-Français, Hachette, 1934
• Carl Meissner; Henry William Auden, Latin Phrase-Book‎^[2], London: Macmillan and Co., 1894
  • to contradict some one: dicere contra aliquem or aliquid (not contradicere alicui)
    
  • it is a breach of duty to..: contra officium est c. Inf.
    
  • for the advantage of the state; in the interests of the state: e re publica (opp. contra rem p.)
    
  • a thing is illegal: aliquid contra legem est
    
  • to foster revolutionary projects: contra rem publicam sentire
    
  • to be guilty of high treason: contra rem publicam facere
    
  • to conspire with some one: conspirare cum aliquo (contra aliquem)
    
  • against all law, human and divine: contra ius fasque
    
• contra in Ramminger, Johann, Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700‎^[3], pre-publication website, 2005-2016, retrieved 16 July 2016

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Occitan

Etymology

From Latin contra.

Preposition

contra

1. against

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Portuguese

Etymology

From Latin contrā.

Pronunciation

• (Portugal, Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈkõ.tɾɐ/
• Hyphenation: con‧tra

Preposition

contra

1. against

Antonyms

• a favor
• em prol
• em favor
• em defesa

Further reading

• “contra” in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa.

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Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French contre, Italian contra, Latin contrā. Doublet of the inherited către.

Preposition

contra

1. against, versus

Adverb

contra

1. against, opposed to, opposite
2. in exchange for

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Spanish

Etymology

From Latin contrā.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkontɾa/, [ˈkõn̪.t̪ɾa]

• Audio (Latin America)

  (file)

Preposition

contra

1. against, versus

   la lucha contra el prejuicio

   the fight against prejudice

   Synonym: en oposición a

   Antonym: a favor de

Derived terms

• contrarreforma
• contrarrevolucionario

• contratapa
• contraventana

• contra viento y marea
• en contra de

Related terms

• contrario
• encontrar

Descendants

• Hiligaynon: kontra
• Tagalog: kontra

Noun

contra m (plural contras)

1. con (disadvantage)

   Antonym: pro

Noun

contra f (plural contras)

1. antidote
2. counterpunch

Adverb

contra

1. opposite, facing

   Synonym: en oposición a

   Antonym: a favor de

Further reading

• “contra” in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014.

Anagrams

• cantor
• cartón

• contar
• cortan
• cratón

• tranco
• tronca