contemplation

English

Etymology

From Middle English contemplacioun, from Old French contemplation, from Latin contemplatio.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌkɒntəmˈpleɪʃən/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˌkɑntəmˈpleɪʃən/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Hyphenation: con‧tem‧pla‧tion
• Rhymes: -eɪʃən

Noun

contemplation (countable and uncountable, plural contemplations)

1. The act of contemplating; musing; being highly concentrated in thought
   • 2019 August 3, Ian Johnson, “The Forbidden City Opens Wide as China Projects New Pride in Its Past”, in New York Times‎^[1]:

     Now, 80 percent is accessible — quickly filling with exhibition spaces, stylish restaurants and cafes, bookstores, and highly profitable gift stores, as well as quiet walkways, shady stands of trees and odd nooks that invite contemplation of bygone dynasties.

   • 1836 March – 1837 October, Charles Dickens, chapter 22, in The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1837, →OCLC:

     Mr. Pickwick congratulated the fortunate owner of the irresistible garments on their acquisition; and Mr. Peter Magnus remained a few moments apparently absorbed in contemplation.

2. Holy meditation.
   • 1851, The Annual Monitor for 1851: A Sketch of the Life and Labours of Patrick, The Apostle of the Irish:

     Whilst he roamed about with his flocks, through ice and snow, communion with his God in prayer, and quiet contemplation, were his portion.

3. The act of looking forward to a future event
4. The state of being considered or planned.
   • 2020 December 2, Barry Doe, “National Rail Timetable changes and reductions”, in Rail, page 73:

     He concludes: "This letter is written in contemplation of legal proceedings, and is a pre-action protocol letter within the meaning of the Civil Procedure Rules 1998."

Synonyms

• (musing): Thesaurus:attention, Thesaurus:consideration

Antonyms

• (antonym(s) of "musing"): pragmatism

Related terms

• contemplate
• contemplational
• precontemplation

Translations

The act of the mind in considering with attention; continued attention of the mind to a particular subject; meditation; musing; study

• Arabic: تَفَكُّر m (tafakkur)
• Bulgarian: размишление (bg) n (razmišlenie)
• Catalan: contemplació f
• Czech: rozjímání n
• Dutch: beschouwing (nl), bespiegeling (nl), overweging (nl), contemplatie (nl) f
• Finnish: tutkiskelu (fi), mietiskely (fi), tutkiskelu (fi)
• French: contemplation (fr) f
• Galician: contemplación (gl) f
• German: Betrachtung (de) f
• Greek: διαλογισμός (el) m (dialogismós), στοχασμός (el) m (stochasmós), περισυλλογή (el) f (perisyllogí), ενατένιση (el) f (enaténisi)
• Maori: whakaaroarohanga
• Polish: kontemplacja (pl) f, medytacja (pl) f
• Portuguese: contemplação (pt) f
• Russian: размышле́ние (ru) n (razmyšlénije), разду́мье (ru) n (razdúmʹje)
• Serbo-Croatian: sozercanje n
• Spanish: contemplación (es) f
• Swedish: begrundande (sv) n
• Turkish: düşünme (tr), tefekkür etme
• Vietnamese: Thiền định n, chiêm niệm (vi) n

Holy meditation

• Bulgarian: съзерцание (bg) n (sǎzercanie)
• Czech: meditace f
• Finnish: uskonnollinen mietiskely
• German: Meditation (de) f
• Greek: περισυλλογή (el) f (perisyllogí), θεωρία (el) f (theoría)
• Polish: bogomyślność (pl) f (archaic)
• Russian: созерца́ние (ru) n (sozercánije), медита́ция (ru) f (meditácija), благочести́вые размышле́ния n pl (blagočestívyje razmyšlénija)
• Spanish: contemplación (es) f
• Swedish: meditation (sv) c, andakt (sv) c
• Turkish: meditasyon (tr)
• Vietnamese: Thiền định n, chiêm niệm (vi) n

The act of looking forward to an event as about to happen; expectation; the act of intending or purposing

• Bulgarian: очакване (bg) n (očakvane)
• Finnish: suunnittelu (fi)
• German: Erwarten (de) c
• Greek: πρόβλεψη (el) f (próvlepsi), πρόθεση (el) f (próthesi)
• Portuguese: contemplação (pt) f
• Russian: предвкуше́ние (ru) n (predvkušénije)
• Spanish: contemplación (es) f
• Swedish: betraktande (sv) n
• Turkish: bekleme (tr)
• Vietnamese: Thiền định n, chiêm niệm (vi) n

French

Etymology

From Latin contemplātiōnem.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kɔ̃.tɑ̃.pla.sjɔ̃/

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

contemplation f (plural contemplations)

1. contemplation

Related terms

• contemplateur
• contemplatif
• contempler

Further reading

• “contemplation”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.