Wiktionary

contraction

EnglishEdit

EtymologyEdit

From Middle English contraccioun, contraxion, from Old French contraction, from Latin contractiō. Equivalent to contract +‎ -ion.

PronunciationEdit

  • (UK) IPA(key): /kɒnˈtɹæk.ʃən/, /kənˈtɹæk.ʃən/
  • (US) IPA(key): /kənˈtɹæk.ʃən/
  • Audio (UK)(file)
  • Rhymes: -ækʃən

NounEdit

contraction (countable and uncountable, plural contractions)

  2. A reversible reduction in size.
  4. (economics) A period of economic decline or negative growth.
    The country's economic contraction was caused by high oil prices.
  6. (biology, medicine) A shortening of a muscle during its use.
  8. (biology, medicine) A strong and often painful shortening of the uterine muscles prior to or during childbirth.
  10. (linguistics) A process whereby one or more sounds of a free morpheme (a word) are lost or reduced, such that it becomes a bound morpheme (a clitic) that attaches phonologically to an adjacent word.
    In English, didn't, that's, and wanna, the endings -n't, -'s, and -a arose by contraction.
    Hyponyms: elision, apheresis, apocope, syncope
  12. (English orthography) A word with omitted letters replaced by an apostrophe, usually resulting from the above process.
    Don't is a contraction of do not; and 'til is a contraction of until.
  14. A shorthand symbol indicating an omission for the purpose of brevity.
  16. The acquisition of something, generally negative.
    Our contraction of debt in this quarter has reduced our ability to attract investors.
    2. (biology, medicine) The process of contracting a disease.
      Synonyms: acquiring, catching
      the contraction of malaria
      • 2020 April 8, Dr David Turner, “How railway staff were conduits and victims of a pandemic”, in Rail, page 32:
        Railway workers were therefore a perfect subject for research, given the varied roles they undertook. If infection was greatest among the non-public-facing staff, it would suggest - given most worked outside - that contraction was caused by something found in the "atmosphere at large". If affliction was higher among the indoor and public-facing staff, it would suggest that human contact was the cause.
        And it was the latter point that was proven.
  18. (phonetics) Syncope, the loss of sounds from within a word.
  20. (biology, medicine) A distinct stage of wound healing, wherein the wound edges are gradually pulled together.

AntonymsEdit

Derived termsEdit

Related termsEdit

TranslationsEdit

phonetics: loss of sounds from within a word — see syncope

See alsoEdit

FrenchEdit

EtymologyEdit

Borrowed from Latin contractio, contractionem.

PronunciationEdit

NounEdit

contraction f (plural contractions)

  1. contraction

Related termsEdit

Further readingEdit

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