contend

English

Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
(See the entry for contend in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.)

Etymology

Borrowed from Old French contendre, from Latin contendere (“to stretch out, extend, strive after, contend”), from com- (“together”) + tendere (“to stretch”); see tend, and compare attend, extend, intend, subtend.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /kənˈtɛnd/
  • Rhymes: -ɛnd

Verb

contend (third-person singular simple present contends, present participle contending, simple past and past participle contended)

  1. To strive in opposition; to contest; to dispute; to vie; to quarrel; to fight.
    • Bible, Deuteronomy ii. 9
      The Lord said unto me, Distress not the Moabites, neither contend with them in battle.
    • Shakespeare
      For never two such kingdoms did contend without much fall of blood.
  2. To struggle or exert oneself to obtain or retain possession of, or to defend.
    • Dryden
      You sit above, and see vain men below / Contend for what you only can bestow.
  3. To strive in debate; to engage in discussion; to dispute; to argue.
    • John Locke
      The question which our author would contend for.
    • Dr H. More
      Many things he fiercely contended about were trivial.

Synonyms

Translations

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.

Further reading

  • contend in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
  • contend in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.