contest

contest
\ \ [16] The idea underlying contest, unlikely as it may seem, is of ‘bearing witness’.
\ \ It goes back to Latin contestārī, a compound verb formed from the prefix com- ‘together’ and testārībear witness’, which in turn was derived from testiswitness’ (whence English testament, testicle, and testimony). This verb signified the bringing of a lawsuit by ‘calling witnesses together’ from both sides. Hence was introduced the adversarial or competitive notion that passed into English, probably via Old French contester (although in the 16th and 17th centuries traces of the original Latin sense ‘bear joint witness, attest’ survived in English, presumably as a scholarly reintroduction).
\ \ Cf.TESTAMENT, TESTICLE, TESTIMONY

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • contest — con·test 1 /kən test/ vt: to dispute or challenge through legal procedures contest a will con·test 2 / kän ˌtest/ n: a challenge brought through formal or legal procedures boundary controversies or other contest s between states Felix… …   Law dictionary

  • contest — vb 1 *compete, contend Analogous words: struggle, strive, endeavor (see ATTEMPT): fight, battle (see CONTEND) 2 *resist, withstand, oppose, fight, combat, conflict, antagonize contest n Contest, conflict, combat, fight, affray, fray …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • Contest — Con test, n. 1. Earnest dispute; strife in argument; controversy; debate; altercation. [1913 Webster] Leave all noisy contests, all immodest clamors and brawling language. I. Watts. [1913 Webster] 2. Earnest struggle for superiority, victory,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • contest — [n1] competition challenge, concours, discussion, game, match, meet, meeting, proving, rencounter, sport, testing, tournament, trial, trying; concepts 92,363 contest [n2] fight, struggle action, affray, altercation, battle, battle royal*, beef*,… …   New thesaurus

  • contest — ► NOUN 1) an event in which people compete for supremacy. 2) a dispute or conflict. ► VERB 1) compete to attain (a position of power). 2) take part in (a competition or election). 3) challenge or dispute. ● …   English terms dictionary

  • Contest — Con*test , v. i. To engage in contention, or emulation; to contend; to strive; to vie; to emulate; followed usually by with. [1913 Webster] The difficulty of an argument adds to the pleasure of contesting with it, when there are hopes of victory …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Contest — Con*test , v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Contested}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Contesting}.] [F. contester, fr. L. contestari to call to witness, contestari litem to introduce a lawsuit by calling witnesses, to bring an action; con + testari to be a witness,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Contest — País …   Wikipedia Español

  • contest — [kən test′; ] for n. [ kän′test΄] vt. [Fr contester < L contestari, to call to witness, bring action < com , together + testari, to bear witness < testis, a witness: see TESTIFY] 1. to try to disprove or invalidate (something) as by… …   English World dictionary

  • contest — is pronounced with stress on the first syllable as a noun and on the second syllable as a verb …   Modern English usage

  • contest — {{Roman}}I.{{/Roman}} noun ADJECTIVE ▪ close, equal (BrE), even, tight ▪ closely fought (esp. BrE), hard fought ▪ one sided, u …   Collocations dictionary

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