contraction

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Old French contraction, from Latin contractiō.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkɒn.tɹæk.ʃən/ (stressed); IPA^(key): /kənˈtɹæk.ʃən/ (unstressed)
• IPA^(key): /kənˈtɹæk.ʃən/
• Rhymes: -ækʃən

Noun

contraction (countable and uncountable, plural contractions)

1. A reversible reduction in size.
2. (economics) A period of economic decline or negative growth.

   The country's economic contraction was caused by high oil prices.

3. (biology) A shortening of a muscle when it is used.
4. (medicine) A strong and often painful shortening of the uterine muscles prior to or during childbirth.
5. (linguistics) A process whereby one or more sounds of a free morpheme (a word) are lost or reduced, such that it becomes a bound morpheme (a clitic) that attaches phonologically to an adjacent word.

   In English didn't, that's, and wanna, the endings -n't, -'s, and -a arose by contraction.

6. (English orthography) A word with omitted letters replaced by an apostrophe, usually resulting from the above process.

   "Don't" is a contraction of "do not."

7. A shorthand symbol indicating an omission for the purpose of brevity.
8. (medicine) The process of contracting a disease.

   the contraction of malaria

9. (phonetics) Syncope, the loss of sounds from within a word.
10. The acquisition of something, generally negative.

    Our contraction of debt in this quarter has reduced our ability to attract investors.

11. (medicine) A distinct stage of wound healing, wherein the wound edges are gradually pulled together.

Antonyms

• expansion
• dilatation

Derived terms

Derived terms

• contractional
• contractionary

• hypercontraction
• supercontraction

Related terms

• contract
• contractation
• contractive
• haustral contraction

Translations

reversible reduction in size

• Afrikaans: verkleining
• Bulgarian: свиване (bg) n (svivane), скъсяване (bg) n (skǎsjavane)
• Burmese: ခြုံ့ခွငျး (hkrum.hkwa.ngya:)
• Catalan: contracció (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 收縮／收缩 (zh) (shōusuō), 收缩 (zh) (shōusuō)

• Finnish: supistuminen
• French: contraction (fr) f
• German: Verkleinerung (de), Kontraktion (de), Schrumpfung m, Schrumpfen n, Abnehmen n, Abnahme (de) f, Minderung (de) f, Verkürzung (de) f, Zusammenziehung (de) f, Verengung f, Schwinden n, Schwindung (de) f
• Hebrew: התכווצות f (hitkavtzut)
• Hungarian: összehúzódás (hu), összehúzás
• Indonesian: kontraksi (id)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Italian: contrazione (it) f
• Japanese: 収縮 (ja) (しゅうしゅく, shūshuku)
• Korean: 단축 (ko) (danchuk)
• Kyrgyz: кыскаруу (ky) (kıskaruu)
• Norwegian: kontraksjon, forminskning
• Occitan: contraccion f
• Portuguese: contração (pt) f
• Romanian: contracție (ro) f
• Russian: сокраще́ние (ru) n (sokraščénije), сжа́тие (ru) n (sžátije)
• Spanish: contracción (es) f
• Swedish: minskning (sv), kontraktion (sv)
• Tagalog: daginsin
• Tajik: дардгирӣ (tg) (dardgirī)
• Thai: การหดตัว
• Uzbek: qisqarish (uz)

economics: period of economic decline or negative growth

• Finnish: taantuma (fi)
• French: contraction (fr) f
• German: Rezession (de) f, Rückgang (de) m, Abschwung (de) m, Schrumpfung f
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Hungarian: visszaesés (hu), recesszió (hu)
• Occitan: contraccion f

shortening of a muscle when it is used

• Bulgarian: свиване (bg) n (svivane)
• Catalan: contracció (ca) f
• Finnish: supistus (fi), lihassupistus
• German: Kontraktion (de) f, Zusammenziehen n, Verkürzung (de) f, Zusammenziehung (de) f, Anspannung (de) f, Einschnürung f, Verengung f, Zuziehung f, Kontraktur (de) f
• Hebrew: התכווצות f (hitkavtzut)
• Hungarian: izom-összehúzódás
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Japanese: 攣縮 (れんしゅく, renshuku)
• Korean: 위축 (ko) (wichuk)
• Kurdish:
• Maori: kukutinga
• Norwegian: kontraksjon, sammentrekning
• Occitan: contraccion f
• Portuguese: contração (pt) f, crispação (pt) f
• Russian: сокраще́ние (ru) n (sokraščénije), сжа́тие (ru) n (sžátije)
• Spanish: contracción (es) f
• Swedish: kontraktion (sv), sammandragning

painful shortening of the uterine muscles

• Bulgarian: контракция f (kontrakcija)
• Catalan: contracció (ca) f
• Dutch: wee (nl) f
• Finnish: synnytyssupistus, supistus (fi)
• German: Wehe (de) f, Geburtswehe (de) f
• Hungarian: fájás (hu), szülési fájás, méhösszehúzódás
• Japanese: 陣痛 (じんつう, jintsū)
• Maori: kukutinga
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Norwegian: sammentrekning
• Occitan: contraccion f
• Portuguese: contração (pt) f
• Russian: сокраще́ние (ru) n (sokraščénije)
• Serbo-Croatian: контракција f (kontrakcija), трудови pl (trudovi)
• Spanish: contracción (es) f
• Swedish: sammandragning

linguistics: process whereby one or more sounds of a free morpheme are lost or reduced

• Danish: sammentrækning (da) c
• Dutch: samentrekking (nl) f
• Finnish: kontraktio (fi), supistuminen
• German: Schmelzwort n, Verschmelzung (de) f, Abkürzung (de) f, Verkürzung (de) f, Kurzwort (de) n
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Hungarian: összevonás (hu), szóösszevonás (hu), összevonódás
• Italian: accorciamento m
• Japanese: 約音化 (やくおんか, yakuon-ka)
• Occitan: contraccion f
• Spanish: contracción (es) m

word with omitted letters replaced by an apostrophe

• Bulgarian: съкращение (bg) n (sǎkraštenie)
• Catalan: contracció (ca) f
• Finnish: kontraktio (fi), supistumamuoto
• German: Kontraktion (de) f
• Hungarian: összevont alak
• Japanese: 短縮形 (たんしゅくけい, tanshuku-kei)
• Korean: 단축어 (danchugeo)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Norwegian: sammentrekning
• Polish: kontrakcja f, forma ściąnięta
• Portuguese: contração (pt) f
• Russian: сокраще́ние (ru) n (sokraščénije), стяже́ние (ru) n (stjažénije)
• Spanish: contracción (es) f
• Swedish: sammandragning

medicine: contracting a disease

• Finnish: tarttuminen (fi), tartunta (fi)
• German: Infektion (de) f, Erwerb (de) m, Ansteckung (de) f
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Hungarian: fertőzés (hu), fertőződés, megfertőződés
• Kyrgyz: кыскаруу (ky) (kıskaruu)
• Portuguese: contração (pt) f

phonetics: loss of sounds from within a word — see syncope

acquisition of something, generally negative

• German: Infektion (de) f, Erwerb (de) m, Annahme (de) f, Kontamination (de) f
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

medicine: stage of wound healing

• Burmese: ခြုံ့ခွငျး (hkrum.hkwa.ngya:)
• Finnish: lähentyminen (fi), kontraktio (fi)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• German: Kontraktur (de) f, Schrumpfung f
• Uzbek: qisqarish (uz)

See also

• omission
• Category:English contractions

---

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin contractio, contractionem.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kɔ̃.tʁak.sjɔ̃/

• Audio (Paris):

  (file)

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

contraction f (plural contractions)

1. contraction

Related terms

• contracter
• contrat