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Etymology and origin of the English word contra

Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˈkɒntɹə/[1]
  • US: /ˈkɑntɹə/[1]

contra1 against

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1362 Langland, Piers Plowman
Borrowed from
Latin contra via Middle English
Ultimate origin
Latin contrā
Etymology tree of contra1
inherited borrowed derived
Latin contra
Aromanian cãtrã
French contre
Italian contro
English contra
From the same root · contra1
English con ← contra
Latin contrarotulus ← contra
Latin contrasto ← contra
Latin incontra ← contra
French contrôler ← contre

Etymology

The preposition and adverb meaning "against" is inherited from Middle English contra,[2][3] borrowed from Latin contrā (“against”).[4][5][6][3][7][8][9] The Latin word was in origin the ablative singular feminine of an old comparative formed from cum (“with”),[4][7][5] and so first meant "in comparison with";[5] the OED compares citrā, extrā, intrā and ultrā.[4] It is the source of contra-, and through French of counter.[5][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

On the contrary, contrariwise: 1362, in Langland's Piers Plowman, where the dreamer answers "Contra" like a cleric in a disputation.[4][2]

Semantic evolution

In Middle English contra was used as the Latin contra dico, "I deny it", and as a noun for an objection.[2] As a preposition, "against", it is recorded from 1480, in Caxton, chiefly in the phrase pro and contra, for and against, which is now usually shortened to pro and con;[4][8] from 1570 it was also used as a noun with a plural, the pros and contras.[4] A noun meaning the contrary or opposite appeared in the 17th century,[4][5][8] and in book-keeping it named the opposite side of an account;[4] Hoad notes that this sense now survives only in per contra, originally an Italian banking term.[8] In 18th-century Cornish mining a contra was a vein crossing another.[4][5]

Timeline

  • 1362 – adverb, on the contrary.[4]
  • before 1425 – on the opposite side.[2]
  • 1480 – preposition, against, in pro and contra.[4]
  • 1570 – noun, an argument against, in pros and contras.[4]
  • 1648 – the contrary or opposite; the opposite side of an account.[4] Etymonline dates the noun to the 1640s.[5]
  • 1778 – a crossing vein in a mine.[4][5]

Meanings

Preposition

  1. Against; in opposition to, chiefly in the phrase pro and contra.[3][6][4]
  2. In contrast to: Contra the forecast, the weekend stayed dry.[6]

Adverb

  1. On the contrary; contrariwise.[3][6][4]

Noun

  1. Something opposite to or against another; the contrary.[3][4]
  2. An offset; an item on the opposite side of an account, as in per contra.[3][4][8]

contra2 Nicaraguan rebel

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing, Clipping
First attested
1981 New York Times
Borrowed from
Spanish contra
Ultimate origin
Spanish contrarrevolucionario

Etymology

The Nicaraguan rebel is borrowed from Spanish contra, a clipping of contrarrevolucionario (“counter-revolutionary”);[4][3][6][10][5][11] Merriam-Webster and Dictionary.com call the short form American Spanish.[3][11] The full word comes from contrarrevolución (“counter-revolution”), formed with contra-, from Latin, and revolución (“revolution”).[6] The OED compares the Latin-derived contra1.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

A Nicaraguan counter-revolutionary, a member of the forces opposing the Sandinista government: 1981, in the New York Times.[4][3][5]

Semantic evolution

The word entered English during the conflict in Nicaragua in the 1980s, for the rebel forces that fought the left-wing Sandinista government with the support and funding of the United States government.[6][10][3] The OED notes that it is usually used in the plural.[4]

Timeline

  • 1981 – a Nicaraguan counter-revolutionary, a member of the forces opposed to the Sandinista government.[4][3][5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A member of the guerrilla forces, backed by the United States, that opposed the Sandinista government of Nicaragua in the 1980s.[3][6][10][4]

Usage notes

Merriam-Webster also has contra as a shortening and alteration of contredanse, a contra dance.[3] The Nicaraguan word is often capitalized.[3][6]

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  7. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  8. ^ a b c d e Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  9. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  10. ^ a b c Soanes, Catherine; Stevenson, Angus, eds. (2004), Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 11th ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  11. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Contra.” Etymologically, 31 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/contra. Accessed 1 Nov. 2026.

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