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
- A competition in which people try to win, especially one judged by others.
- A struggle for power or control: a leadership contest.
Verb
- To argue against or challenge formally: contest a will.
- 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
- ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
- ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
- ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ 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
- ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press