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)

  1. A reversible reduction in size.
  2. (economics) A period of economic decline or negative growth.
    The country's economic contraction was caused by high oil prices.
  3. (biology) A shortening of a muscle during its use.
  4. (medicine) A strong and often painful shortening of the uterine muscles prior to or during childbirth.
  5. (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.
  6. (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."
  7. A shorthand symbol indicating an omission for the purpose of brevity.
  8. (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.
  9. (phonetics) Syncope, the loss of sounds from within a word.
  10. The acquisition of something, generally negative.
    Our contraction of debt in this quarter has reduced our ability to attract investors.
  11. (medicine) A distinct stage of wound healing, wherein the wound edges are gradually pulled together.

AntonymsEdit

Derived termsEdit

Derived terms

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

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