contrast English · revision 5015

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1695|origins=la contra, la stare}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: noun UK /ˈkɒn.trɑːst/, US /ˈkɑːn.træst/; verb UK /kənˈtrɑːst/, US /kənˈtræst/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|fr|contraster]], from Italian contrastare “to stand out against, strive”,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) from Medieval Latin contrāstāre,^(Hoad 1986)^(NODE 1998) from Latin [[m|la|contrā|t=against]] and [[m|la|stāre|t=to stand]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) It is related to [[contra]] and [[stand]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The modern verb is a term of art from 1695, in Dryden's translation of Dufresnoy's Art of Painting: to place forms or colours side by side so as to heighten their effect.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) An earlier verb contrest “to withstand, fight against”, from Old French contrester, is recorded from 1489 and became extinct.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The noun, contention or strife, is from 1597 and is obsolete.^(OED 1989)^(MWU 2024)^(SOED 2002) In the fine arts the noun is from 1711, from French contraste.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) General comparison of opposite things is by 1755,^(OED 1989) and a thing strikingly unlike another from 1764.^(Etymonline) In photography, the degree of difference between tones is from 1911.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1489 – contrest, to withstand.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1597 – noun, strife.^(OED 1989)^(MWU 2024)

+ * 1695 – verb, in painting.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1711 – noun, in art.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1764 – a striking difference.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1911 – photographic contrast.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # An obvious difference between things that are compared.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A person or thing very unlike another.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The difference in brightness or colour between parts of a picture or [[screen]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To compare things in order to show their differences.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To be noticeably different from something.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[contrastable]]

+ * [[contrastingly]]

+ * [[contrastably]]

+ * [[contrasty]]

+ * [[contrastive]]

+ * [[contrast medium]]

+ * [[phase contrast microscope]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[contra]]

+ * [[stand]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}