contraception

Etymology

It is formed from English contra- (“against”) + conception, with the first syllable of conception dropped, so that the new word keeps only its ending.^{[2][3][4][5][6][7]} The prefix comes from Latin contrā (“against”),^[4][8][6] and the noun goes back through Old French to conceptiō (“a comprehending, conception”), from concipiō (“to take in and hold; become pregnant”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The prevention of conception in the womb: 1886, in E. B. Foote's Radical Remedy in Social Science.^[2][3][4] Merriam-Webster gives the same year,^[9] and Dictionary.com dates the word to 1885–90.^[7]

Semantic evolution

The word was coined in the late 19th century as a learned name for what Etymonline also glosses as birth control.^[4][6] The noun contraceptive, a device or drug that prevents conception, followed in 1891, formed in the same way from conceptive,^[2][3][4] and the adjective, preventing conception, is dated 1915 by Etymonline and 1918 by the OED and Barnhart.^[4][2][3] The OED also records contraceptionist, a person who practises or advocates contraception.^[10] The verb contracept is a back-formation of the mid 20th century.^[7] Modern dictionaries define the word broadly, covering devices, drugs, surgical procedures and natural methods such as the rhythm method.^[11][12][9]

Timeline

• 1886 – the prevention of conception.^[2][3][4][9]
• 1891 – contraceptive, noun, a contraceptive device or drug.^[2][3][4]
• 1918 – contraceptive, adjective.^[2][3] Etymonline dates it to 1915.^[4]
• 1965–70 – the back-formation contracept.^[7]

Meanings

Noun

1. The deliberate prevention of conception or impregnation, by devices, drugs, surgery or natural methods: The clinic gives advice on contraception.^{[11][9][12][2]}
2. The use of contraceptive methods.^[13]

Word family

• contraceptive
• contracept

Related words

• conception
• conceive
• contra-
• counter-

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
6. ^ a b c Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b c d Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
8. ^ The Chambers Dictionary (2014), 13th ed., Edinburgh: Chambers
9. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
10. ^ Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
11. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
12. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
13. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press