contest

Pronunciation

• IPA: noun: UK /ˈkɒn.test/, US /ˈkɑːn.test/; verb: /kənˈtest/^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Middle French contester (“to dispute, oppose”),^[2][3][4] from Latin contestārī (“to call to witness”), especially contestārī lītem “to introduce a lawsuit by calling witnesses, bring an action”,^[2][3][4] from con- “together” and testārī “to bear witness”, from testis “witness”.^[2][3] The idea is that calling witnesses was the first step in a legal combat.^[2] The noun is from the verb, perhaps influenced by French conteste.^[3][5] It is related to testament, testify and protest.^[3][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The early English senses followed the Latin: to swear to a fact (1579) and to bear witness to, attest (1591), both now obsolete.^[6][5][7] Barnhart notes a Middle English past participle in the phrase “the strif lawfully contestat”, having brought suit (before 1475), which may be the start of the English verb.^[3]

Semantic evolution

To dispute or debate is from 1603,^[6][3] and to fight or strive to win or hold something from about 1600.^[2] Entering into competition for something is from the 1610s,^[2] and calling into question, as in contest a will, from the 1660s.^[2][6] The noun, strife in argument, is from 1643,^[6][3] and a struggle for victory, or a friendly competition for a prize, from 1647.^[6]

Timeline

• 1579 – to swear to.^[6]
• 1603 – to dispute, debate.^[6][3]
• 1610s – to compete for.^[2]
• 1643 – noun, controversy.^[6][3]
• 1647 – noun, a competition or struggle.^[6]
• 1660s – to call into question.^[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A competition in which people try to win, especially one judged by others.
2. A struggle for power or control: a leadership contest.

Verb

1. To argue against or challenge formally: contest a will.
2. To compete or fight for: contest an election.

Word family

• contestable
• contester
• contestableness
• contestably
• contestingly
• contestation
• recontest
• no contest

Related words

• testament
• testify
• protest
• contestant

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press