Other forms: contractions
A contraction is a tightening of the womb during birth. Regular contractions, time the contractions, contractions started.
They begin irregular and grow longer, stronger and closer together, and timing them is how labour is judged — the usual instruction is to go in when they come every five minutes and last a minute. Braxton Hicks contractions are the practice ones. The word also means any shrinking, and in grammar a contraction is a shortened form like don't. Note contract, contractile.
1nouncontractionA tightening of the womb during birth.
“The contractions came about every four minutes.”
2nounshortenedA shortened form of a word.
“In formal essays, avoid contractions like "don't" and "can't".”
contraction is a tightening or shortening.
Latin contractio comes from contrahere, to draw together — con plus trahere, to pull. Tractor, attract and contract come from the same pulling.
Proto-Indo-European
*dʰregʰ- — to drag, pull; to run
Latin
contractiō — a drawing together, contraction; abridgement, shortening; dejection, despondency
Old French
contraction
Middle English
contraccioun
English, today
contraction
Built from
From Late Middle English contraccioun, contraxion (“spasm, contraction; constriction, shrinking; act of pressing together”), from Old French contraction (modern French contraction), from Latin contractiō (“a drawing together, contraction; abridgement, shortening; dejection, despondency”), from contrahō (“to draw things together, assemble, collect, gather; to enter into a contract”) + -tiō. contrahō is derived from con- + trahō (“to drag, pull”) (probably from Proto-Indo-European dʰregʰ- (“to drag, pull; to run”)). by surface analysis, en + contract + ion.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA