contraction
EnglishEdit
EtymologyEdit
Borrowed from Old French contraction, from Latin contractiō. Equivalent to contract + -ion
PronunciationEdit
- (UK) IPA(key): /kɒnˈtɹæk.ʃən/, /kənˈtɹæk.ʃən/
Audio (UK) (file)
- (US) IPA(key): /kənˈtɹæk.ʃən/
- Rhymes: -ækʃən
NounEdit
contraction (countable and uncountable, plural contractions)
- A reversible reduction in size.
- (economics) A period of economic decline or negative growth.
- The country's economic contraction was caused by high oil prices.
- (biology) A shortening of a muscle during its use.
- (medicine) A strong and often painful shortening of the uterine muscles prior to or during childbirth.
- (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.
- (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."
- A shorthand symbol indicating an omission for the purpose of brevity.
- (medicine) The process of contracting a disease.
- 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.
- (phonetics) Syncope, the loss of sounds from within a word.
- The acquisition of something, generally negative.
- Our contraction of debt in this quarter has reduced our ability to attract investors.
- (medicine) A distinct stage of wound healing, wherein the wound edges are gradually pulled together.
AntonymsEdit
Derived termsEdit
Derived terms
Related termsEdit
TranslationsEdit
reversible reduction in size
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economics: period of economic decline or negative growth
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shortening of a muscle when it is used
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painful shortening of the uterine muscles
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linguistics: process whereby one or more sounds of a free morpheme are lost or reduced
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word with omitted letters replaced by an apostrophe
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medicine: contracting a disease
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phonetics: loss of sounds from within a word — see syncope
acquisition of something, generally negative
medicine: stage of wound healing
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See alsoEdit
- omission
- Category:English contractions
- contraction on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
FrenchEdit
EtymologyEdit
Borrowed from Latin contractio, contractionem.
PronunciationEdit
NounEdit
contraction f (plural contractions)