contention

English

Etymology

From Middle English contencion, borrowed from Old French contencion, from Latin contentio, contentionem, from contendō (past participle contentus); equivalent to contend + -ion (similar formation to attention).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kənˈtɛnʃən/

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

• Hyphenation: con‧ten‧tion

Noun

contention (countable and uncountable, plural contentions)

1. Argument, contest, debate, strife, struggle.
2. A point maintained in an argument, or a line of argument taken in its support; the subject matter of discussion of strife; a position taken or contended for.

   It is my contention that state lotteries are taxes on stupid people.

3. (computing, telecommunications) Competition by parts of a system or its users for a limited resource.

Synonyms

• gainstrife, gainstriving, wrangling

Hyponyms

• (computing) resource contention

Derived terms

• bone of contention
• contention system
• in contention
• point of contention
• resource contention

Related terms

Related terms of contention

• contend
• contender
• contentious
• contentiousness

 

Translations

contest, strife, struggle

• Bulgarian: състеза́ние (bg) n (sǎstezánie), съревнова́ние (bg) (sǎrevnovánie), спор (bg) m (spor)
• Catalan: disputa (ca) f, discòrdia (ca) f, litigi (ca) m
• Czech: soutěž (cs) f, soupeření n, soutěžení n
• Dutch: strijd (nl) m, ruzie (nl) f
• Finnish: väite (fi), väittely (fi)
• French: dispute (fr) f, discorde (fr) f, litige (fr) m
• Georgian: კამათი (ka) (ḳamati)
• German: Streit (de) m
• Irish: amarrán m, dréim f, bágh f (literary)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: خەبات‎ (ku) (xebat)

• Maori: taukumekume
• Norwegian: krangel m, strid m
• Occitan: contencion f, contèsta (oc) f, litigi m
• Portuguese: contenção (pt) f, contenda (pt) f
• Romanian: dispută (ro) f, discordie (ro) f, litigiu (ro) n
• Russian: спор (ru) m (spor), раздо́р (ru) m (razdór)
• Scottish Gaelic: ceallach m
• Spanish: contienda (es) f
• Swedish: bråk (sv) n, dispyt (sv) n, dust (sv) n, gräl (sv) n, träta (sv) c, tvist (sv) c, tvistighet c
• Turkish: anlaşmazlık (tr), atışma (tr), kavga (tr), münakaşa (tr), tartışma (tr), uyuşmazlık (tr)

point maintained in an argument

• Catalan: posició (ca) f
• Czech: tvrzení (cs) n, názor (cs) m, přesvědčení (cs) n
• Dutch: bewering (nl) f
• Finnish: kanta (fi)

• German: Behauptung (de) f
• Norwegian: påstand
• Russian: пози́ция (ru) f (pozícija)
• Turkish: iddia (tr), sav (tr)

(computing, telecommunications) Competition for a limited resource.

• Finnish: kamppailu (fi)

References

• contention on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Further reading

• contention in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911
• contention in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913

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Old French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin contentio, contentionem. Cf. the inherited form contençon, and see also tençon.

Noun

contention f (oblique plural contentions, nominative singular contention, nominative plural contentions)

1. dispute; quarrel; disagreement

Related terms

• contendre
• contençon
• tençon

Descendants

• English: contention
• French: contention