contrary

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈkɒntɹəɹi/, /kənˈtɹɛəɹi/ (UK); /ˈkɑntɹɛɹi/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English contrarie, borrowed from Anglo-Norman contrarie, Old French contrarie, contraire,^[2][3][4] and directly borrowed from Latin contrarius (“opposite, opposed; hostile”), from contra (“against”) (see contra-).^[2][3][5] The spelling contraire, from French, is found from 1370 into the late 1400s, but disappeared except in dialect by 1500.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Opposed in nature, extremely unlike: about 1340, in the Ayenbite of Inwyt.^[2][6] The noun is from about 1275.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

Mutually opposed is from 1413.^[6] Perverse, inclined to contradiction, and adverse or unfavourable, as a contrary wind, are from the late 14th century.^[3] On the contrary dates from about 1400, first as in the contrary.^[3] Hoad notes that the word was regularly stressed on the second syllable until the 18th century, and still is in the sense perverse, obstinate.^[5][7]

Timeline

• c. 1275 – the noun.^[2]
• c. 1340 – opposed in nature.^[2][6]
• late 14th century – perverse; unfavourable.^[3]
• c. 1400 – on the contrary.^[3]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Opposite in nature, direction or meaning.
2. (often stressed on the second syllable) Perversely inclined to disagree or do the opposite.
3. Of wind or weather, unfavourable.

Noun

1. The opposite: on the contrary.
2. (logic) A proposition so related to another that both cannot be true.

Word family

• contrarily
• contrariness
• contrarious
• contrarian
• contrariwise
• contrary to

Related words

• subcontrary
• contra
• counter
• contrast
• contradict

Usage notes

Etymonline explains the logical distinction: if the statement is All men are mortal, its contrary is Not all men are mortal, its converse All mortal beings are men, and its opposite No men are mortal.^[3]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ 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 Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press