contractn.1
/ˈkɒntrakt/, U.S. /ˈkɑnˌtræk(t)/ 1.
a. A mutual agreement between two or more parties that something shall be done or forborne by one or both; a compact, covenant, bargain; esp. such as has legal effects (see 2); a convention between states.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > legal obligation > contract > [noun]
covenantc1330
contractc1386
finec1390
agreement1425
obligement1499
convention1513
achate1607
mail contract1843
punctation1855
pay-or-play1949
the mind > language > speech > agreement > [noun] > an agreement
forewardOE
accordc1275
covenant1297
end1297
form1297
frettec1330
conjurationc1374
treatc1380
bargainc1386
contractc1386
comenaunt1389
compositionc1405
treaty1427
pact1429
paction1440
reconventionc1449
treatisea1464
hostage1470
packa1475
trystc1480
bond (also band) of manrent1482
covenance1484
concordance1490
patisement1529
capitulation1535
conventmenta1547
convenience1551
compact1555
negotiation1563
sacrament1563
match1569
consortship1592
after-agreementa1600
combourgeoisie1602
convention1603
comburghership1606
transaction1611
end-makingc1613
obligement1627
bare contract1641
stipulation1649
accompackmentc1650
rue-bargaina1657
concordat1683
minute1720
tacka1758
understanding1803
meet1804
it's a go1821
deal1863
whizz1869
stand-in1870
gentlemen's agreement1880
meeting of minds1883
c1386 G. Chaucer Friar's Tale 8 In punysshynge..Of chirche Reues and of testamentz Of contractes and eek of lakke of sacramentz.
1483 W. Caxton tr. J. de Voragine Golden Legende 206/1 In lystris was a contracte which he losed and redressid.
a1555 D. Lindsay Tragedie in Dialog Experience & Courteour (1559) sig. Sivv Had we with Ingland, kepit our contrackis, Our nobyll men, had leuit in peace and rest.
1758 S. Johnson Idler 15 Apr. 9 I make no contract, nor incur any obligation.
1790 E. Burke Refl. Revol. in France 143 Society is indeed a contract . View more context for this quotation
1872 E. Peacock Mabel Heron I. viii. 123 He..faithfully carried out the terms of his contract.
1884 Standard 28 Feb. 5/1 The stipulation..might find its place in any contract between friendly Powers.
b. esp. A business agreement for the supply of certain articles or the performance of specified work at a certain price, rate, or commission.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > business affairs > [noun] > agreement for supply of goods, etc.
contract1602
1602 R. Carew Surv. Cornwall (1811) 422 A new contract for the tin.
1710 R. Steele Tatler No. 3. ⁋6 Contracts are entered into with the merchants of Milan, for a great number of mules.
1765 Ann. Reg. 136 It was completed within two or three weeks of the time allowed by the contract.
1856 R. W. Emerson Eng. Traits ix. 154 George of Cappadocia..got a lucrative contract to supply the army with bacon.
1873 J. S. Phillips Metallurgist's Compan. (ed. 2) 479 The contracts for the sinking of the shafts, driving levels, etc.
1881 W. Besant & J. Rice Chaplain of Fleet I. iii. 34 [He] became a master builder, and made great sums of money by taking city contracts.
c. according to contract, by contract, etc.
ΚΠ
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Ezra ix. 14 We haue..let go thy commaundementes, to make contracte with the people of these abhominacions.
1659 B. Harris in tr. J. N. de Parival Hist. Iron Age (ed. 2) Contin. 311 And now was the Austrian forces (according to contract) joyned with the Polanders.
1667 Second Advice in Second & Third Advice to Painter 9 Falmouth was there, I know not what to act, Unles 'twas to grow Duke too by Contract.
1798 J. Wolcot Tales of Hoy in Wks. (1812) IV. 417 I think it must have been built by contract.
1863 J. Ruskin Munera Pulveris (1880) 136 Let our future sieges of Sebastopol be done by contract.
d. ‘A writing in which the terms of a bargain are included’ (Johnson).
ΘΚΠ
society > law > legal obligation > contract > [noun] > written contract or text of
memorandum1591
contract1611
convenisse1661
maintenance agreement1951
1611 Bible (King James) 1 Macc. xiii. 42 Then the people of Israel began to write in their instruments, and contracts, in the first yeere of Simon the high Priest, etc. View more context for this quotation
1680 Countess of Manchester in E. M. Thompson Corr. Family of Hatton (1878) I. 219 A paper under his owne hand being found, a contract made to the divell.
e. An undertaking. U.S. colloquial.
ΚΠ
1880 A. A. Hayes New Colorado (1881) vi. 87 A person should carefully study his temperament..before he takes a contract to go into a deep shaft.
1880 A. A. Hayes New Colorado (1881) xi. 159 Here, too, was Armigo to have annihilated General Kearny, but for the unfortunate circumstance of his troops declining, as they say in the West, ‘to take the contract’.
1891 E. S. Ellis Check No. 2134 vii. 50 Any person might well shrink from the contract of corraling a couple [of such men].
f. A season railway-ticket. Also in combinations.
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society > travel > rail travel > [noun] > train ticket > types of
commutation ticket1848
scalp ticket1880
parliamentary ticket1893
contract1899
awayday1972
1899 Westm. Gaz. 17 July 4/2 The justice of the peace..decided that the company had no right to expect its contract-holders to carry business advertisements about for its benefit.
1904 Notice in Liverpool Exchange Station Passengers must show their Tickets (Contract or Ordinary) before passing through these Gates.
1966 F. Shaw et al. Lern Yerself Scouse 66 Ave yera contract? Have you a season ticket?
g. In the game of auction bridge, an undertaking to make a certain number of tricks; hence contract bridge (formerly contract auction), a form of auction bridge in which only the tricks which the declarer has undertaken to make count towards the game; also elliptically contract.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > card game > bridge > [noun] > varieties of
nullo1893
duplicate1894
auction bridge1903
auction1908
contract1908
duplicate bridge1929
plafond1929
rubber bridge1935
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > card game > bridge > [noun] > actions or tactics > contract or declaration
declaration1895
make1902
contract1908
part score1932
1908 Westm. Gaz. 24 Dec. 14/2 Suppose the contract is two in hearts, and four by cards are made, the contracting side score 32 below the line, and game. If the contract had failed, and say two by cards had been lost, the adversaries would score 200 in their honour column.
1922 Encycl. Brit. XXX. 499/2 ‘Contract Auction’ of which the essential point is that no more tricks can be scored toward game than the declarer has contracted to make.
1927 M. C. Work Contract Bridge i. 5 The Contract player, therefore, is straining for every trick.
1927 M. C. Work Contract Bridge ii. 9 The basic theory of Contract, viz., that Declarer may score below the line (toward game) only as many odd tricks as he has contracted to win.
1927 Observer 10 Apr. 25 Little coteries and sets play variations of Bridge, such as Contract, Cairo, Standard, and so forth.
1929 Punch 10 Apr. 420 ‘Contract bridge’, which is superseding auction bridge on the Continent and in America, has taken a strong hold in Britain.
1929 Observer 24 Nov. Contract has been ‘boomed’ in a way that Auction never was.
1929 M. C. Work Compl. Contract Bridge p. xi Their contract and game were secure from the beginning.
1952 I. Macleod Bridge viii. 100 George Morris, certainly the most..successful money player in this country since Contract started.
h. slang (originally U.S.). An arrangement to kill someone, usually for a fee; frequently in to put a contract (out) on (someone), to arrange for someone to be killed by a hired assassin.
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the world > life > death > killing > man-killing or homicide > murder or assassination > [noun] > agreement or arrangement for
contract1940
contract killing1977
1940 Life 30 Sept. 90/2 An order to murder in the delicate phraseology of The Combination is ‘a contract’... If a contract calls for something special fancy, the troop boss may take it on himself.
1963 Organized Crime & Illicit Traffic in Narcotics (U.S. Senate Comm. Govt. Operations) i. 188 ‘You had a contract to kill Joe Baker?’ ‘That is right.’
1969 C. F. Burke God is Beautiful, Man (1970) 47 They decided to find a way to get rid of him, to wipe him out. So they tried to put a contract on him.
1974 J. Gardner Corner Men iv. 30 ‘You want a contract?’ ‘Not on them. On someone close to them. You make it hurt.’
1976 Maclean's 31 May 24 Some policemen believe that a West End mobster named ‘Lucky’ has put a contract out for Savard.
1983 Guardian 15 Jan. 26/8 The jeweller, having been told of the possible contract on his life, decided to get rid of the goods.
2. In a legal sense: An agreement enforceable by law.
a. An accepted promise to do or forbear.
b. An agreement which effects a transfer of property; a conveyance.
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society > law > transfer of property > [noun] > agreement effecting transfer of property
lease1483
conveyance1523
contract1641
c1386 [see sense 1a].
1491 Act 7 Hen. VII c. 24 Inhabitauntes..whiche had true cause of accion for..obligacions, contractis and other laufull causes.
1513–14 Act 5 Hen. VIII c. 1 Preamble Notaries..to..recorde the Knowlege of all contractes, bargeyns, convencions, pactes and agrementes made..within the seid Citie.
1641 Rastell's Termes de la Ley (new ed.) f. 82 Contract is a bargaine of covenant betweene two parties, where one thing is given for another.
1767 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. (new ed.) II. 442 A contract..is thus defined: ‘an agreement, upon sufficient consideration, to do or not to do a particular thing’.
1845 H. J. Stephen New Comm. Laws Eng. II. 55 There is in strictness a distinction between a promise and a contract; for the latter involves the idea of mutuality, which the former does not.
c. The department of law relating to such agreements.
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society > law > branch of the law > [noun] > law relating to contract
contract1861
1861 H. S. Maine Anc. Law ix. 304 The society of our day is mainly distinguished..by the largeness of the sphere which is occupied..by Contract.
1879 W. R. Anson (title) Principles of the English Law of Contract.
3. spec. as to marriage.
a. The act whereby two persons take each other in marriage.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > action or fact of marrying > [noun]
eeOE
weddingc1000
wivingOE
contractc1315
marriagec1325
matrimony1357
unionc1475
maritagec1478
briding1566
espousal1566
match1574
intermarriage1579
despousing1609
espousement1623
nuptial1630
coupling1641
splice1830
intermarrying1843
contraction1885
yokemating1891
c1315 Shoreham 62 And ȝyf ryȝt contrait is y-maked Wyȝthoute wytnessynge.
1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomew de Glanville De Proprietatibus Rerum (1495) vi. xiii. 197 In the contracte of weddinge a man byhotyth and oblygith hymself to lede his lyfe wyth his wyfe wythout departynge.
c1400 Three Kings Cologne (1886) 132 He schal make a contrait, a Matrimonye bitwix þe Emperouris sone of Rome and þe Emperouris doughter of Tartaryn.
?a1475 (?a1425) tr. R. Higden Polychron. (Harl. 2261) (1865) I. 355 Thei make not lawefulle contractes in matrimony.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Edward IV f. ccxliiiiv The tyme of lawfull contract of mariage is not yet come.
1711 G. Miège Present State Great Brit. & Irel. (ed. 2) iii. ii. 6 Those that dwell in Towns seldom make any Contract of Marrige with them in the Country.
1757 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. I. 432 Our law considers marriage in no other light than as a civil contract.
b. Formal agreement for marriage; betrothal.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > betrothal > [noun]
truthc1300
betrothingc1315
truthingc1350
espousala1393
troth-plighta1393
desponsationa1400
troth-plightingc1400
ensurance1469
fiançailles1477
handfasting1483
assurancea1513
assuring1530
suring1530
contract1551
insurancea1556
trothing1565
despousage1570
betrothment1585
contracting1585
affiancing1596
spousage1596
espousage1599
handfasta1616
desponsories1645
hand-fastening1662
disposories1668
contraction1702
engagement1811
plightage1819
betrothal1844
heart-bond1887
introduction1965
kwanjula1973
1551 Act 2 & 3 Edw. VI c. 21 Under colour and pretence of a former contract made with another.
a1616 W. Shakespeare As you like It (1623) iii. ii. 307 [Time] trots hard with a yong maid, between the contract of her marriage, and the day it is solemnizd. View more context for this quotation
1622 F. Bacon Hist. Raigne Henry VII 81 Which defect (they said) though it would not euacuate a marriage..yet it was enough to make voide a contract.
1678 J. Bunyan Pilgrim's Progress 218 The contract between the Bride and the Bridgroom was renewed. View more context for this quotation
1847 Ld. Tennyson Princess iv. 85 You have our son:..give him your hand: Cleave to your contract.
c. The instrument of agreement for a marriage, the settlement.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > wedding or nuptials > gifts and payments > [noun] > marriage settlement
marriage contract1592
marriage agreement?c1663
marriage articlesa1668
marriage deed1678
marriage settlement1678
tocher-band1792
contract1815
ketubah1841
1815 W. Scott Lord of Isles iv. xxvii. 165 Till at my feet he laid the ring, The ring and spousal contract both.
1818 W. Cruise Digest Laws Eng. Real Prop. (ed. 2) I. 232 The father and son are parties to the marriage contract.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > movement towards a thing, person, or position > [noun] > drawing towards itself or attraction > mutual
contract?1608
coition1613
?1608 J. Donne Lett. (1651) 58 Nearer Contracts then generall Christianity, had made us so much towards one.
1626 F. Bacon Sylua Syluarum §944 Whereupon followeth that Appetite of Contract, and Coniunction, which is in Louers.
1654 R. Whitlock Ζωοτομία 337 Nothing more dethrones the mind of man, than the flatteries of a woman: or that contract of Hearts without which no wedlock.
ΚΠ
1588 A. King tr. P. Canisius Cathechisme or Schort Instr. 39 All unlauchfull..vsurping of vthir mens geir be thift..vsurie, inust winning, decept, and vther contractis.
Compounds
attributive and in other combinations. Often in the sense, ‘Done, made, or supplied by contract,’ with connotation of low price and inferior workmanship, as contract work, contract job, contract shoes, contract prices.
ΚΠ
1665 Sir W. Coventry in Pepys' Corr. 280 By what time each contract-ship building may be ready.
1818 Art of preserving Feet 195 A contract shoe, which perhaps falls in pieces before his day's march is half over.
1888 Pall Mall Gaz. 2 Oct. 6/1 These vessels are to be completed within..one to two years from the contract dates.
Draft additions 1993
b. (In sense 1h.)
contract killer
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > death > killing > man-killer or homicide > [noun] > murderer or assassin
banea800
murthereOE
quellerOE
manslaughta1225
manquellec1275
murderer1340
Cainc1380
drepera1400
sicariana1400
murder mana1450
interfector1450
murdrier1481
murdresara1500
assassin1531
cut-throat1535
cutter1569
baner1605
brave1606
bravo1609
dagger-mana1616
assassinate1621
assassinator1651
sword-taker1660
assassinant1662
banesman1870
hatchet man1876
murdermonger1900
hit-man1970
mechanic1972
contract killer1980
1980 N.Y. Times 28 July a20/1 Various harebrained schemes of eliminating Fidel Castro,..one of which involved the use of contract killers from the American underworld.
1986 Times 21 Nov. 5/7 Mr Ranuana's friend was a police informer and the two ‘contract killers’ were undercover detectives.
contract killing
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > death > killing > man-killing or homicide > murder or assassination > [noun] > agreement or arrangement for
contract1940
contract killing1977
1977 Washington Post 14 Jan. c2/3 The..murder charge..carries a maximum sentence of life, and involves the alleged ‘contract’ killing of a suspected drug dealer.
1987 Daily Tel. 17 Sept. 10/1 That unedifying period..when gangsters ran Chicago, civic corruption was rife and a contract killing was only marginally more difficult to set up than a stiff drink.
Draft additions October 2011
contract of adhesion n. chiefly North American Law [after French contrat d'adhésion (1840 or earlier)] a contract consisting of standardized and non-negotiable terms, esp. where one party to the contract is in a weaker bargaining position than the other.
ΚΠ
1916 E. F. Scott & J. P. Chamberlain tr. R. Demogue Anal. Fund. Notions in tr. A. Fouillée et al. Mod. French Legal Philos. ii. xv. 472 The contract of adhesion, where the agreement is found to be settled once for all, and is formed frequently by a mere acceptance, without a special offer.
1957 Virginia Law Rev. 43 847 A government contract is a contract of adhesion, that is to say, a contract with standard terms and conditions, prepared by one party and offered to another on a take-it-or-leave-it basis.
1983 Guardian 14 Jan. 14/2 The franchise contract is normally a ‘contract of adhesion’ as opposed to a ‘contract of negotiation’.
2010 G. P. Poon Corporate Counsel's Guide to Mediation ii. 16 A court may strike down the mediation clause if it finds that there was unequal bargaining power (i.e., contracts of adhesion or ‘take it or leave it’).
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1893; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
contractadj.n.2
/kənˈtrakt/, U.S. /kənˈtræk(t)/ = contracted adj.† A. adj.
1. Past participle, as:
a. see contract v. 3, 5.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > existence > intrinsicality or inherence > introduction or bringing in > [adjective] > contracted or brought on oneself
contractc1386
contracted1640
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > betrothal > [adjective] > betrothed
troth-plighta1300
handfasta1470
assured1474
desponsate1483
handfasted1535
contracted1548
betrothed1557
trothed1567
affianced1574
affied1591
contract1597
combinatea1616
desponsated1623
troth-contracted1633
troth1844
engaged1869
the mind > possession > acquisition > [adjective] > obtained or acquired > something immaterial
contracted1640
contract1647
c1386 G. Chaucer Parson's Tale ⁋260 Whan the soule is put in oure body, right anoon is contract original synne.
1540 Act 32 Hen. VIII c. 38 §2 Such mariages beyng contracte and solemnised in the face of the church.
1597 W. Shakespeare Richard III iii. vii. 169 For first he was contract to lady Lucy. View more context for this quotation
1647 H. More Philos. Poems ii. i. i. xxii The..prepossessing prejudice, that I Perhaps may have contract.
b. see contract v. 7, 9. Now archaic or poetic.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > extension in space > reduction in size or extent > [adjective] > relating to contraction > contracted
shrunkenc950
contractc1400
crined?a1513
shrunk1530
braced1534
contracted1603
retired1607
shrivelleda1631
constringed1655
dishrivelled1771
ingathered1853
c1400 Lanfranc's Cirurg. 223 Þe lyme þat it servede fore schal be contract.
a1513 H. Bradshaw Lyfe St. Werburge (1521) i. xx. sig. g.viiv His handes and his fete..Were sodenly smytten, made lame, contracte also.
1540 R. Jonas tr. E. Roesslin Byrth of Mankynde i. f. xxixv Because the place is contracte to gether agayn.
1773 J. Ross Fratricide (MS) iii. 37 With limbs contract through bitterness of pain.
1854 S. T. Dobell Balder xxiv. 172 The painful limbs contract with pangs.
2. † a. Narrowed, limited, abbreviated, condensed, etc.: see contract v. 9. Obsolete.† b. Of the body or limbs: Drawn together, shrunken (with paralysis, etc.). Obsolete.† c. Arithmetic. Of numbers: Restricted to some particular object; concrete. Obsolete.† d. Logic. Abridged, abbreviated: see quots.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > kind or sort > individual character or quality > quality of being special or restricted in application > quality of being restricted or limited > [adjective]
narroweOE
restraint1445
modifiedc1485
limitate1541
restricteda1550
strait-laced1549
scant1556
circumcised1561
contract1561
restrained1578
determinate1586
limited1590
restrict1597
strict1597
confined1605
determineda1616
limitary1620
prescript1645
modificated1646
circumscribed1647
conscribed1654
limitated1654
reserved1654
coarctated1655
straiteneda1665
unabsolute1694
stinted1710
bounded1711
contracted1711
cramped1741
special1815
municipal1856
fine-cut1894
stingy1927
society > authority > subjection > restraint or restraining > restriction or limitation > [adjective] > restricted or limited
narroweOE
restraint1445
modifiedc1485
limitate1541
restricteda1550
scant1556
contract1561
limited1590
confined1605
limitary1620
prescript1645
modificated1646
circumscribed1647
limitated1654
reserved1654
coarctated1655
unabsolute1694
bounded1711
contracted1711
cramped1741
crimped1828
stingy1927
society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > conciseness > [adjective] > compressed
contract1561
cutted1565
curtal1579
contracted1595
astrict1631
compressed1822
condensed1823
syncopated1897
capsule1938
1561 R. Eden tr. M. Cortés Arte Nauigation ii. xix. sig. G.ii His beames shew them selues contracte, or gathered together & short.
1608 D. Tuvill Ess. Politicke, & Morall f. 16 This contract world of our frayle and humaine bodies.
1621 T. Bedford Sinne unto Death 10 Something more contract he is then Aquinas.
1647 H. More Philos. Poems ii. iii. iv. vi What judgeth so but envie, and vain pride, And base contract self-love?
1686 J. Goad Astro-meteorologica To Rdr. 3 I might have been more contract perhaps.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > diseases of tissue > wasting disease > [adjective] > withered
forpined1377
contractc1430
withereda1500
forwithered1563
arefacted1599
arefacting1599
corky1603
diminished1607
shrivelled1607
shirpit1821
shriveldy1840
mummified1879
c1430 Pilgr. Lyf Manhode (1869) iii. xxviii. 5 Thanne j go speke with the trewaundes, and make hem to seem embosed, or contract, or deff, or dowm.
a1464 J. Capgrave Abbreuiacion of Cron. (Cambr. Gg.4.12) (1983) 229 He was so contracte þat his body was scarce a cubite of length.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > mathematical number or quantity > [adjective] > describing particular qualities > fixed or restricted
sicker1377
denominate1579
contract1600
1557 R. Record Whetstone of Witte sig. Aii That nomber is contracte from his generall libertie of signification, which is bounde to one denomination, as in saiyng 10 grotes.]
1600 T. Hylles Arte Vulgar Arithm. ix. §107 Number is first diuided.. In number abstract and number contract.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > logic > logical syllogism > [adjective] > of types of syllogism
modal1569
hypothetical1588
prosyllogistical1588
contract1605
prosyllogistic1652
monstrative1653
enthymematic1654
epicheirematic1656
hypothetica1680
pure1697
indirect1728
dialectal1767
tollent1770
conjunctivea1856
hypothetico-disjunctivea1856
schematica1856
unfigureda1856
subsumptive1884
episyllogistic1886
1605 A. Wotton Answere Popish Pamphlet 4 A simple syllogisme is either contract, or explicate.
1628 T. Spencer Art of Logick 261 A contract Syllogisme, is when the argument..is so applyed to the particular question, that it is the antecedent in both parts; and the assumption affirmed.
e. Grammar. Marked by contraction; = contracted adj. 5d.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > morphology > word-formation > [adjective] > contracted or abbreviated
decurtatea1638
syncopated1665
contract1751
contracted1816
syncope1953
1751 J. Wesley Wks. (1872) XIV. 112 Most verbs in μι are formed from Contract Verbs.
1884 F. De F. Allen Hadley's Greek Gram. (rev. ed.) §410 In the optative active, contract verbs have generally -ιη- in the singular.
1884 F. De F. Allen Hadley's Greek Gram. (rev. ed.) §412 Seven verbs in -αω take η instead of ᾱ in the contract forms.
B. n.2† 1. A person whose limbs are contracted or shrunken (cf. A. 2b); a paralytic.† 2. An abridgement, compendium, epitome.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > disorders of internal organs > convulsive or paralytic disorders > [noun] > palsy or paralysis > person
paralytica1398
palsya1400
contract1483
palsy-sicka1586
1483 W. Caxton tr. J. de Voragine Golden Legende 428/3 xiii contractes or fylled wyth paralysye were by the same restoryd in good helthe.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > literature > prose > non-fiction > summary or epitome > [noun]
abbreviationa1464
summary1509
breve1523
bridgement1523
abbreviate1531
summulary1533
breviary1547
extract1549
digest1555
brief1563
promptuary1577
abbreviature1578
institute1578
breviation1580
breviate1581
compendiary1589
symbol1594
ramass1596
compendium1608
abridgement1609
digestment1610
digestion1613
epitome1623
abridge1634
comprisal1640
comprisurea1641
syntome1641
medulla1644
multum in parvo1653
contracta1657
landscape1656
comprehension1659
sylloge1686
contraction1697
résumé1782
compend1796
sum-up1848
roundup1884
wrap-up1960
a1657 R. Loveday Lett. (1663) 259 That there may be room enough for something else, take it thus in contract.
1667 J. Collins Let. in S. P. Rigaud & S. J. Rigaud Corr. Sci. Men 17th Cent. (1841) (modernized text) II. 476 I am not for making the book bigger..[it] being intended for a manual or contract.
3. Grammar, etc. A contract form or word; a contraction, abbreviation.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > morphology > word-formation > [noun] > abbreviation or contraction > a contracted word
syncope1530
syncopation?1533
abbreviation1576
abbreviature1602
abridgement1612
contract1669
contraction1755
shrivel1873
suspension1896
stump word1922
clipping1933
1669 T. Gale Court of Gentiles: Pt. I i. iii. 20 Now it is very evident that the name ΧΗΝΑ is but the contract of Canaan.
1884 F. De F. Allen Hadley's Greek Gram. (rev. ed.) §41 In contracts of the first and second declensions, a short vowel followed by α..is absorbed: ὀστέ-α, ὀστᾶ.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1893; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
contractv.
/kənˈtrakt/, U.S. /kənˈtræk(t)/ (in senses I. and II. often)Brit. /ˈkɒntrakt/, U.S. /ˈkɑnˌtræk(t)/ I. To agree upon, make a contract, engage.
1. † c. In a bad sense: To conspire, plot. Obsolete.
a. transitive. To agree upon, establish by agreement, to undertake mutually, or enter upon (a) a convention or treaty, (b) a legal or business engagement. Now rare except as in 3.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > social relations > association, fellowship, or companionship > associate with [verb (transitive)]
seeOE
drawc1275
mella1300
meeta1325
fellow1340
usec1384
conjoinc1386
joinc1390
knitc1400
accompany1461
enfellowship1470
frequent1477
haunt1477
mixa1513
encompanya1533
combinea1535
contract1548
to take with ——1562
associate1581
to have a saying toa1593
cope1594
sort1594
to take in1597
consort1600
herd1606
factionate1611
to keep company (with)a1616
accost1633
solder1641
converse1649
walk1650
consociate1653
coalite1734
to get with ——a1772
forgather1786
unionize1810
to go rounda1867
to mix in1870
cop1940
society > law > legal obligation > contract > agree to by contract [verb (transitive)]
covenant1382
covenancea1450
indent1487
contract1548
1548 Hall's Vnion: Edward IV f. ccxlv They sent..a league indented..in the which it was contracted and agreed [etc.].
a1575 N. Harpsfield Treat. Divorce Henry VIII (1878) (modernized text) 241 There is emption and vendition contracted as soon as the parties be condescended upon the price.
1589 R. Hakluyt tr. in Princ. Navigations i. 169 We haue contracted an inuiolable amitie, peace and league with the aforesaid Queene.
1630 tr. G. Botero Relations Famous Kingdomes World (rev. ed.) 464 They contracted their owne conditions in despight of that whole Armie.
a1680 S. Butler Genuine Remains (1759) I. 202 Assume the legal Right to disengage From all, it had contracted under Age.
1846 H. H. Wilson Hist. Brit. India 1805–35 II. x. 411 He steadily persisted in declining to contract any subsidiary alliance.
b. Hence, to contract friendship, to contract acquaintance, etc., which passes into sense 4.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > intention > planning > plotting > plot (a purpose) or hatch (a plot [verb (transitive)] > plan by conspiring
conjure1477
confederate1555
complot1597
contract1618
closeta1649
compact1667
conjurate-
1618 G. Chapman tr. Hesiod Georgicks i. 370 Whom rude Injury delights, and acts That misery and tyranny contracts.
1633 J. Done tr. ‘Aristeas’ Aunc. Hist. Septuagint 93 What men do and thinke with themselues, or what they plod and contract with another.
2.
a. intransitive. To enter into an agreement or contract, esp. a business or legal engagement.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > legal obligation > contract > enter into or make contract [verb (intransitive)]
covenantc1330
contract1530
society > occupation and work > business affairs > [verb (intransitive)] > enter into business agreement
contract1746
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 497/1 I contracte, I covenaunt with one upon condyscions.
1597 R. Hooker Of Lawes Eccl. Politie v. lxiv. 155 That infants may contract and couenant with God, the law is plaine.
1677 M. Hale Contempl. ii. 124 It was but Reasonable and Just for him [Adam] to contract for all his Posterity.
1700 J. Dryden Chaucer's Palamon & Arcite ii, in Fables 35 But first contracted, that if ever found..His head should pay the forfeit.
1746 in Colonial Rec. Pennsylvania (1851) V. 42 The Supplies contracted to be deliver'd them from this port.
1863 F. A. Kemble Jrnl. Resid. Georgian Plantation 70 Two planters..have contracted to build a canal.
1891 Law Times Rep. 63 765/1 The defendants were liable as principals, as they had contracted in their own names.
b. Const. for (a piece of work, an article to be supplied, etc.).
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > business affairs > [verb (transitive)] > enter into agreement for goods or work
contract1651
society > occupation and work > working > labour supply > [verb (transitive)] > take service with an employer > enter into contract for work
contract1651
1651 T. Hobbes Leviathan i. xv. 75 The value of all things contracted for, is measured by the Appetite of the Contractors.
1676 J. Evelyn Mem. (1857) II. 115 This Dutchman had contracted with the Genoese for all their marble.
1796 Hull Advertiser 14 May 2/2 Such joiners as wish to contract for the pewing of Aldbrough church.
1845 J. R. McCulloch Treat. Taxation iii. i. 409 When government goes into the money-market and contracts for a loan.
1890 W. Besant Demoniac iii. 29 In the good old days of railway making, when the founder of the family engineered, contracted, and constructed on the largest scale possible.
c. to contract oneself out of: to free oneself from, divest oneself of, by entering into a contract.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > legal obligation > contract > agree to by contract [verb (transitive)] > free oneself from by entering contract
to contract oneself out of1879
1879 Daily News 20 Sept. 3/3 The landlord contracting himself out of the Agricultural Holdings Act.
1891 Law Rep.: Weekly Notes 7 Mar. 43/2 The company had contracted itself out of the right to wind up voluntarily.
d. intr. to contract out: to make an arrangement or agreement not to participate under certain conditions; to gain exemption or exclusion from certain provisions, etc.; hence, to refuse to take part in or be a part of. Conversely, to contract in.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > agreement > make an agreement [verb (intransitive)] > contract in or out
to contract out1894
to contract in1927
1894 Times 29 Jan. 11/4 With the exception of those men who now have contracting-out mutual insurance societies, the opinion of the working men..is..against permission to contract out on any terms.
1906 Daily Chron. 23 June 4/3 ‘The parents of at least twenty children’ may appeal to the Board of Education, which, if it sees fit, may allow the school to contract-out... They do not contemplate..any large amount of contracting-out.
1920 S. Webb & B. Webb Hist. Trade Unionism 366 By ‘contracting out’ was meant an arrangement between employer and employed by which the latter relinquish the rights conferred upon them by the Act, and often also their rights under the Common Law.
1927 Daily Express 24 Mar. 1 The Trade Union Bill will provide that members of a trade union wishing to contribute to political funds shall contract in.
1952 Ann. Reg. 1951 165 A member of the Committee of Ministers was enabled to ‘contract out’.
1957 Economist 21 Dec. 1042/3 Why should one section of the community, the trade unionists, contract out of this planless ‘opportunity state’?
1959 Times 9 Jan. 8/4 The beat generation of San Francisco presumably contracted out of society only after the refrigerator and car had become commonplace.
e. transitive. To arrange for by contract; to let out by contract; to delegate (work, etc.).
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > working > [verb (transitive)] > set (person) to work > send work off premises
to put out1653
farm1666
contract1897
subcontract1898
subbie1983
1897 Daily News 13 Sept. 7/5 Do you contract your work of construction, or do it by direct employment of labour?
1902 Daily Chron. 16 Aug. 6/2 We are forbidden to contract a ‘boy’ away from the country for more than a year.
1959 Which? Winter 63/2 The Cleaner may contract work out wholly or in part.
3. spec. as to marriage.figurative.1609 W. Shakespeare Sonnets i. sig. B But thou contracted to thine owne bright eyes. View more context for this quotation
a. transitive. To constitute marriage by contract; to enter into marriage.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > action or fact of marrying > marry [verb (intransitive)]
weda1225
marrya1325
spousec1390
to make matrimonyc1400
intermarry1528
contract1530
to give (also conjoin, join, take) in (also to, into) marriage1535
to make a match1547
yoke1567
match1569
mate1589
to go to church (with a person)1600
to put one's neck in a noosec1600
paira1616
to join giblets1647
buckle1693
espouse1693
to change (alter) one's condition1712
to tie the knot1718
to marry out1727
to wedlock it1737
solemnize1748
forgather1768
unite1769
connubiate1814
conjugalize1823
connubialize1870
splice1874
to get hitched up1890
to hook up1903
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > match-making > match [verb (transitive)] > constitute marriage by contract
contract1530
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 497/1 I contracte matrymonye with one, Je me fiance.
1589 R. Greene Menaphon sig. L2v They all concluded..to passe into Thessaly, to contract the mariage twixt Pleusidippus, & the daughter of the Thessalian King.
1621 P. Heylyn Microcosmus 60 Charles the eight, who contracts a marriage with the Orphan.
1638 Penit. Conf. (1657) vii. 121 The Greek Priests sinned not in contracting marriage.
1708 J. Chamberlayne Present State Great Brit. (1745) 361 Banns are always asked before marriage can be contracted.
1845 S. Austin tr. L. von Ranke Hist. Reformation in Germany (ed. 2) II. 403 It were better for the priesthood to contract matrimony than to live with women of ill fame.
1885 Law Rep.: Probate Div. 10 80 She was of unsound mind and incapable of contracting marriage.
b. (a) transitive and reflexive. To betroth, affiance, engage (two persons, or one person to another); passive to be betrothed or ‘engaged’. archaic. †(b) To enter into a matrimonial contract with. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > betrothal > betroth [verb (transitive)]
handfastlOE
spousea1225
spousec1300
truthc1330
sickerc1384
assure1393
ensurea1450
fiancea1450
affya1500
insure1530
affiance1531
promise1548
betroth1566
espouse1581
contract1599
engage1728
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > action or fact of marrying > marry [verb (transitive)]
bewedc1000
bespousec1175
wieldc1275
marrish1340
wedc1380
geta1393
takea1400
espouse?1435
marry1441
couplec1540
contract1599
to take on1611
consort?1615
to take to one's bosom1881
nuptial1887
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > betrothal > betroth [verb (transitive)] > engage oneself to
handfastc1275
betroth1303
trotha1400
troth-plighta1400
fiance1483
contract1735
1599 F. Thynne Animaduersions (1875) 15 Since the prince was onlye slenderly contracted, and not maryed, to her.
c1600 Diurnal of Remarkable Occurrents (1833) 21 Vpoun the xxvj day of November, the kingis grace was contractit on the eldest dochter of the King of France.
1605 Two Vnnaturall & Bloodie Murthers 21 Maister Browne with his owne handes contracted his onely daughter to Peter.
1606 G. W. tr. Epit. Liues Emperors in tr. Justinus Hist. sig. Ll 3v His daughter Margaret, first contracted with the King of France, and then refused, was married to Phillibert.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Winter's Tale (1623) iv. iv. 388 Contract vs fore these Witnesses. View more context for this quotation
1635 E. Pagitt Christianographie 84 That no Deaconship or Presbytership is given among them, except first they have contracted a Virgin.
1735 tr. C. Rollin Anc. Hist. IV. 161 Two of the principal citizens of Sparta contracted themselves to his two daughters.
1775 R. B. Sheridan Rivals i. ii We were contracted before my father's death.
1871 W. H. Ainsworth Tower Hill i. v What would Lady Rochford think of her, if she knew she was contracted to this man?
c. intransitive. To enter into a matrimonial contract.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > betrothal > engage oneself to marry [verb (intransitive)]
to plight (also pledge) (one's) troth?c1225
truthc1350
handfast1547
contract1660
engage1722
1660 Bp. J. Taylor Ductor Dubitantium II. iii. v. 387 Although the yong folks can contract even against their parents will, yet they can be hindred from possession.
1765 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. I. 552 First, they must be willing to contract..Secondly, they must be able to contract.
II. To enter into, incur, become involved in, acquire.
4. to contract friendship, to contract acquaintance, etc., was originally said of the two parties entering into such mutual relations (see sense 1); whence, of one party, ‘to form, enter into, or become engaged in’ such a relation.
ΚΠ
1553 R. Eden tr. S. Münster Treat. Newe India sig. Gvj A further frendship by this meanes contracted.
1598 F. Bacon Sacred Medit. in Essaies (new ed.) f. 15v It is the Charitie of Publicanes contracted by mutuall profite, and good offices.
1623 J. Bingham tr. Xenophon Hist. 120 Cleander..vsed Xenophon with all kindnesse, and contracted hospitalitie with him.
1634 W. Tirwhyt tr. J. L. G. de Balzac Lett. 205 We ought to contract perfect love with honest men.
1773 T. Jefferson Corr. in Wks. (1859) I. 195 The small acquaintance which I had the pleasure of having contracted with you.
1861 T. Hughes Tom Brown at Oxf. I. vii. 115 To feel that he was contracting his first college friendship.
5.
a. To enter into, bring upon oneself (involuntarily), incur, catch, acquire, become infected with (something noxious, as disease, †mischief; bad habits or condition; †danger, †risk, †blame, guilt).
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > causation > [verb (transitive)] > bring something upon > oneself
underliec960
catch?c1225
to run in ——1403
to run into ——?a1425
incurc1460
to run upon ——1583
contract1598
1598 R. Barckley Disc. Felicitie of Man v. 529 The common opinion of happinesse..is contracted by the fall of our first parent.
1608 E. Topsell Hist. Serpents 30 Shee eateth Rue..to auoyde all the poyson shee contracted in the combat.
1628 T. Hobbes tr. Thucydides Peloponnesian War (1822) 106 You must stand the danger you have contracted.
1654 R. Codrington tr. Justinus Hist. 425 Demetrius..contracted as much contempt by his sloth, as his Father had [contracted] hatred by his pride [cf. 221].
1665 J. Glanvill Sciri Tuum: Authors Defense Let. Aristotle 82 in Scepsis Scientifica Under whom they contracted new and worse errors.
1667 S. Pepys Diary 10 Apr. (1974) VIII. 161 And he contract the displeasure of all the world.
1691 T. Hale Acct. New Inventions p. cviii Thereby contracting dangerous Colds, Coughs and Catarrhs.
1700 J. Dryden Char. Good Parson in Fables 534 Well may the baser Brass, contract a Rust.
1746–7 J. Hervey Medit. (1818) 166 The woods seem to contract a sickly aspect.
1840 T. B. Macaulay Ld. Clive 91 He had contracted several painful distempers.
1866 ‘G. Eliot’ Felix Holt I. i. 41 She had contracted small rigid habits of thinking and acting.
1877 J. B. Mozley Univ. Serm. (ed. 3) viii. 172 One who has contracted guilt.
b. In a neutral or good sense: To take on, acquire, get for oneself (a habit, quality, condition).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > acquisition > obtain or acquire [verb (transitive)] > something immaterial
takeOE
get1476
receive1546
contract1691
1691 T. Hale Acct. New Inventions 94 The wasting..of Sheet-Lead by the heat and moisture contracted between it and the plain it lyes on.
1711 E. Budgell Spectator No. 162. ¶11 He had contracted the Seriousness and Gravity of a Privy-Counsellor.
1716 A. Pope Epist. Jervas in J. Dryden tr. C. A. du Fresnoy Art of Painting (ed. 2) sig. A6v Like friendly Colours..each from each contract new Strength and Light.
1749 Ld. Chesterfield Let. 5 Dec. (1932) (modernized text) IV. 1456 Contract a habit of correctness and elegance.
1774 O. Goldsmith Hist. Earth (1862) II. iv. vii. 116 Their flesh contracts an agreeable flavour of garlic.
1853 F. W. Robertson Serm. 3rd Ser. xxi. 273 We cannot help contracting good from such association.
6. † b. To bring on a person (a debt, guilt, etc.). Obsolete.
a. To incur (a liability or obligation, esp. a debt).
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > duty or obligation > responsibility > be responsible for [verb (transitive)] > become liable for
score1592
contract1719
to fall in for1788
1650 [see sense 6b].
1719 W. Wood Surv. Trade (ed. 2) 67 For the Debt to Foreigners, tho' near Thirty Years Contracting, is not..more than Five Millions.
1720 W. R. Chetwood Voy. Capt. R. Falconer ii. 37 I am going to pay a Debt..which was contracted at my Birth.
1803 J. Porter Thaddeus of Warsaw (1831) xii. 104 To defray what he had contracted would nearly exhaust his all.
1849 A. Alison Hist. Europe from French Revol. (new ed.) I. ii. 217 The loans contracted had amounted to 530,000,000 francs.
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > duty or obligation > responsibility > be responsible for [verb (transitive)] > become liable for > render someone liable
dangera1400
contract1650
1650 T. Fuller Pisgah-sight of Palestine iv. iii. 53 This is a new debt of later date, contracted on themselves by their infidelity.
1657 R. Baxter Acct. Present Thoughts 12 No sinne of a Believer..doth so much as contract on the person a guilt of death or any punishment.
III. To draw together, concentrate; to narrow, limit, shorten.† 7. † b. figurative. Obsolete.figurative.1764 O. Goldsmith Traveller 10 But calm, and bred in ignorance and toil, Each wish contracting, fits him to the soil.
a. To draw or bring (things) together, collect, concentrate, combine in one. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > state of being gathered together > gather together [verb (transitive)]
somnec825
heapc900
gathera975
samc1000
to set togetherc1275
fang1340
assemblec1374
recueilc1380
drawa1393
to draw togethera1398
semblea1400
congatherc1400
congregatec1400
to take together1490
recollect1513
to gather togetherc1515
to get together1523
congesta1552
confer1552
collect1573
ingatherc1575
ramass1586
upgather1590
to muster upa1593
accrue1594
musterc1595
compone1613
herd1615
contract1620
recoil1632
comporta1641
rally1643
rendezvous1670
purse1809
adduct1824
to round up1873
reeve1876
to pull together1925
the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > state of being gathered together > gather together [verb (transitive)] > gather in one mass or form lumps
wholec1443
consolidate1511
clod1530
thicken?1578
contract1620
acervate1623
lump1624
bundlea1628
club1641
to lump together (occasionally up)1692
commassate1694
slump1822
pack1824
1620 T. Venner Via Recta viii. 179 Much meat doth..contract to the stomacke the spirits..for the concocting of it.
a1631 J. Donne Poems (1633) Why love among the virtues is not known; It is, that love contracts them all in one.
1644 H. Parker Jus Populi 57 As the people were more contracted, so they might the more easily consult together.
1647 C. Harvey Schola Cordis 5 All, that the world containes, in this one tree Contracted is.
1656 B. Harris tr. J. N. de Parival Hist. Iron Age ii. i. iv. 171 TheKking contracted formidable forces, neer Sedan.
a1727 I. Newton Chronol. Anc. Kingdoms Amended (1728) i. 176 Theseus contracted those twelve cities into one.
1782 J. Reynolds Disc. Royal Acad. xi. 34 By contracting into one whole what nature has made multifarious.
ΚΠ
1611 C. Tourneur Atheist's Trag. (new ed.) i. sig. C4 With a purpose so contracted to that absence.
1691 J. Norris Pract. Disc. Divine Subj. 187 He having his Spiritual Senses well disposed..contracts his Affections upon Heaven and Happiness.
8. To draw the parts of (anything) together; to cause to shrink; to knit (the brow).
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > [verb (transitive)] > agree to buy or sell or contract
bargain1488
contract1604
the world > space > extension in space > reduction in size or extent > reduce in size or extent [verb (transitive)] > contract or shrink
inknitc1374
drawc1390
shrinka1398
strain1398
to shorten up1530
contrahe1540
to gather up1553
to draw in1572
contract1604
constringe1652
purse1668
constrain1697
undistend1868
collapse1908
1604 W. Shakespeare Hamlet i. ii. 4 Our whole Kingdome, To be contracted in one browe of woe. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Timon of Athens (1623) i. i. 251 Aches contract, and sterue your supple ioynts. View more context for this quotation
1661 R. Lovell Πανζωορυκτολογια, sive Panzoologicomineralogia 157 [Herons] fly holding their legges backwards and their necks contracted.
1797 R. Beilby & T. Bewick Hist. Brit. Birds I. 224 By contracting the muscles of the head.
1863 ‘G. Eliot’ Romola I. viii. 141 The companion..whose brow is never contracted by resentment or indignation.
9. reflexive.1664 H. Power Exper. Philos. i. 9 There is a white Film or Bladder, which continually contracts and dilates itself.1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 127. ¶10 A Touch of your Pen will make it contract it self, like the Sensitive Plant.1774 O. Goldsmith Hist. Earth VIII. 183 That power they have of lengthening and contracting themselves at pleasure.† d. To abbreviate, abridge, condense; reflexive to speak or write briefly. Obsolete.intransitive.1884 F. De F. Allen Hadley's Greek Gram. (rev. ed.) §37 note The Ionic..has uncontracted forms in very many cases where the Attic contracts.
a. To reduce to smaller compass as by drawing together; to diminish in extent; to narrow, shorten.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > extension in space > reduction in size or extent > reduce in size or extent [verb (reflexive)] > contract
withdraw?1473
contract1626
1626 F. Bacon Sylua Syluarum §266 You contract your eye, when you would see sharply.
1653 H. Holcroft tr. Procopius Gothick Warre iv. 125 in tr. Procopius Hist. Warres Justinian The tyde is contracted in a narrow passage between two lands.
1699 J. Potter Archæologiæ Græcæ II. iii. xvi. 146 The Sails were contracted, dilated, or chang'd from one Side to another.
1725 A. Pope tr. Homer Odyssey III. x. 104 The jutting shores that swell on either side Contract its mouth.
1786 W. Gilpin Observ. Picturesque Beauty (1788) II. 221 The rocks, contracting the road.
1869 J. Phillips Vesuvius viii. 228 This eruption contracted the area of the lake very sensibly.
b. figurative. To make smaller, reduce in amount, diminish the extent or scope of; to narrow.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > decrease or reduction in quantity, amount, or degree > reduce in quantity, amount, or degree [verb (transitive)]
littleeOE
anitherOE
wanzelOE
lessc1225
slakea1300
littenc1300
aslakec1314
adminisha1325
allayc1330
settle1338
low1340
minisha1382
reprovea1382
abatea1398
rebatea1398
subtlea1398
alaskia1400
forlyten?a1400
imminish14..
lessenc1410
diminish1417
repress?a1425
assuagec1430
scarcec1440
small1440
underslakec1440
alessa1450
debate?c1450
batec1460
decreasec1470
appetisse1474
alow1494
mince1499
perswage?1504
remita1513
inless?1521
attenuate1530
weaken1530
defray1532
mitigate1532
minorate1534
narrow?1548
diminuec1550
extenuate1555
amain1578
exolve1578
base1581
dejecta1586
amoinder1588
faint1598
qualify1604
contract1605
to pull down1607
shrivel1609
to take down1610
disaugment1611
impoverish1611
shrink1628
decoct1629
persway1631
unflame1635
straiten1645
depress1647
reduce1649
detract1654
minuate1657
alloy1661
lower?1662
sinka1684
retreat1690
nip1785
to drive down1840
minify1866
to knock down1867
to damp down1869
scale1887
mute1891
clip1938
to roll back1942
to cut back1943
downscale1945
downrate1958
slim1963
downshift1972
1605 F. Bacon Of Aduancem. Learning i. sig. D4 He that cannot contract the sight of his minde, as well as disperse and dilate it, wanteth a great facultie. View more context for this quotation
a1665 J. Goodwin Πλήρωμα τὸ Πνευματικόv (1670) i. 13 It is the nature of grief to contract the heart.
1669 S. Pepys Diary 17 Apr. (1976) IX. 523 He hopes shortly to contract his expense.
1750 S. Johnson Rambler No. 49. ⁋7 Selfishness has contracted their understandings.
1878 T. H. Huxley Physiography (ed. 2) 37 The natural discharge at Thames Head is now contracted.
c. figurative. To restrict, limit, confine.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > subjection > restraint or restraining > restriction or limitation > restrict or limit [verb (transitive)]
thringc1250
restrain1384
bound1393
abounda1398
limita1398
pincha1450
pin?a1475
prescribec1485
define1513
coarcta1529
circumscribe1529
restrict1535
conclude1548
limitate1563
stint1567
chamber1568
contract1570
crampern1577
contain1578
finish1587
pound1589
confine1597
terminate1602
noosec1604
border1608
constrain1614
coarctate1624
butta1631
to fasten down1694
crimp1747
bourn1807
to box in1845
the world > relative properties > kind or sort > individual character or quality > quality of being special or restricted in application > quality of being restricted or limited > restrict or limit [verb (transitive)]
thringc1250
circumscrivec1374
arta1382
bound1393
limita1398
restrainc1405
pincha1450
restringe1525
coarcta1529
circumscribe1529
restrict1535
conclude1548
narrow?1548
limitate1563
stint1567
chamber1568
contract1570
crampern1577
contain1578
finish1587
conscribe1588
pound1589
confine1597
border1608
circumcise1613
constrain1614
coarctate1624
butta1631
prescribe1688
pin1738
1570 H. Billingsley in tr. Euclid Elements Geom. vii. Introd. f. 183 What other thing is in musicke entreated of, then nomber contracted to sound and voyce?
1639 T. Heywood Londini Status Pacatus sig. Cv Time so contracts us, that we cannot dwell On all.
1663 B. Gerbier Counsel to Builders 15 The reason also for contracting the Balconies within the upright of a Colmn.
1872 J. Yeats Growth Commerce 56 The ban which contracted its civilisation within fixed limits that could not be extended.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > conciseness > be brief [verb (reflexive)]
contract1604
society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > conciseness > put concisely or briefly [verb (transitive)] > condense
condensate1555
contract1604
to shut up1622
compress1746
condense1805
pemmican1837
pemmicanize1845
to boil down1880
bovrilize1900
society > leisure > the arts > literature > prose > non-fiction > summary or epitome > summarize or abridge [verb (transitive)]
abrevya1325
comprehendc1369
abridgec1384
shorta1390
suma1398
abbreviate?a1475
shorten1530
to cut short?1542
curtail1553
to knit up1553
to wind up1583
clip1598
epitomize1599
brief1601
contract1604
to shut up1622
decurt1631
to sum up1642
breviate1663
curtilate1665
compendize1693
epitomate1702
to gather up1782
summarize1808
scissor1829
précis1856
to cut down1857
to boil down1880
synopsize1882
essence1888
résumé1888
short copy1891
bovrilize1900
pot1927
summate1951
capsulize1958
profile1970
1604 Bp. W. Barlow Summe Conf. at Hampton Court in Phenix 1721 I. 139 The Sum and Substance of the Conference..contracted by William Barlow.
1631 in S. R. Gardiner Rep. Cases Star Chamber & High Comm. (1886) 28 My Lords, tyme being spent I will contract myselfe.
1653 O. Cromwell Speech 4 July in Writings & Speeches (1945) (modernized text) III. 2 Seeing you sit here somewhat uneasie..I shall contract my self with respect to that.
1676 J. Ray Corr. (1848) 121 What he writes of the Haggard Falcon is contracted out of Latham.
1726 G. Shelvocke Voy. round World i. 2 I shall endeavour to contract my relation.
1753 N. Torriano tr. J. B. L. Chomel Hist. Diss. Gangrenous Sore Throat 104 You may, Sir, contract whatever you may judge proper, and make what Use you please of this my Letter.
e. Grammar. To shorten (a word, syllable, etc.) by combining or eliding some of its elements.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > morphology > word-formation > form words [verb (intransitive)] > be contracted
contract1605
the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > morphology > word-formation > form words [verb (transitive)] > contract or abbreviate
clip1526
curtail1553
abbreviate1598
contract1605
syncopate1605
syncopize1643
bobtaila1680
elide1831
apocopate1845
1605 W. Camden Remaines i. 57 Contracted from Honoricus.
1659 J. Pearson Expos. Creed (1839) 99 Jehoshua, in process of time contracted to Jeshuah.
1751 S. Johnson Rambler No. 92. ⁋9 The syllables might be often contracted or dilated at pleasure.
1871 H. J. Roby Gram. Lat. Lang. i. ix. §222 U + e and u + i are contracted into u in some cases of substantives with u stems.
1884 F. De F. Allen Hadley's Greek Gram. (rev. ed.) §38 A close vowel before an open is seldom contracted.
1884 F. De F. Allen Hadley's Greek Gram. (rev. ed.) §409 note [In Homer] verbs in -οω are contracted as in Attic.
f. Prosody. (see quot. 1884).
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > literature > poetry > versification > rhythm > put into rhythm [verb (transitive)] > contract
contract1884
1884 F. De F. Allen Hadley's Greek Gram. (rev. ed.) §1080 Resolution and Contraction.—Many kinds of verse allow..the use of a long syllable in place of two short ones, which are then said to be contracted.
10. intransitive (for reflexive). To become smaller in extent or volume; to narrow, shorten, shrink.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > decrease or reduction in quantity, amount, or degree > decrease in quantity, amount, or degree [verb (intransitive)]
littleOE
setc1000
wanzec1175
lessc1225
allayc1275
wane1297
slaken1303
disincreasec1374
slakec1380
decrease1382
debatea1400
unwaxa1400
wastea1400
adminishc1400
lessenc1400
imminish14..
aslakec1405
minish?a1425
assuagec1430
shrinkc1449
to let down1486
decay1489
diminish1520
fall1523
rebate1540
batea1542
to come down1548
abate1560
stoop1572
pine1580
slack1580
scanten1585
shrivel1588
decrew1596
remit1629
contract1648
subside1680
lower1697
relax1701
drop1730
to take off1776
to run down1792
reduce1798
recede1810
to run off1816
to go down1823
attenuatea1834
ease1876
downscale1945
the world > space > extension in space > reduction in size or extent > become reduced in size or extent [verb (intransitive)] > contract or shrink
shrimc1000
shrinkc1275
to draw togethera1398
gather1577
coact1578
to fall together1583
draw1615
contract1648
to run up1838
to take up1860
society > authority > subjection > restraint or restraining > restriction or limitation > be restricted or limited [verb (intransitive)]
contract1648
bound1705
the world > relative properties > kind or sort > individual character or quality > quality of being special or restricted in application > quality of being restricted or limited > be restricted or limited [verb (intransitive)]
contract1648
bound1705
1648 Bp. J. Wilkins Math. Magick ii. v. 182 Like the fins of a fish to contract and dilate.
1731 J. Arbuthnot Ess. Nature Aliments 116 Whatever makes a Depletion of the Vessels gives room to the Fibres to contract.
1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps ii. xxxi. 409 In passing from the solid to the liquid state, ice, like bismuth, contracts.
Draft additions 1993
f. To place under contract.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > agreement > make an agreement with [verb (transitive)] > engage (a person)
ensurec1400
firm1530
wed1578
engage1603
ink1940
contract1961
society > occupation and work > working > labour supply > [verb (transitive)] > hire or employ > employ by signing of agreement or contract
indent1758
sign1881
contract1961
1961 in N. Webster
1984 Dictionaries 6 185 Oxford has contracted International Computaprint Corporation for the initial capture.
1988 A. Lively Blue Fruit 126 We've just contracted a bunch of black musicians.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1893; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1c1315
adj.n.2c1386v.1530