contre
French
Etymology
Inherited from Middle French contre, from Old French contre, from Latin contra.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /kɔ̃tʁ/
Audio: (file)
Preposition
contre
- against (in physical contact with)
- La paille est contre la maison
- the straw is against the house
- Elle s'appuie contre le mur.
- She's pushing against the wall.
- against (not in favor of)
- Les citoyens sont pour, mais les hommes politiques sont contre.
- The citizens are for, but the politicians are against.
- against (having as an opponent)
- Ce soir: Lille contre Marseille en direct.
- Tonight: Lille against Marseille live.
- as against (as opposed to, compared to, in contrast with)
- 10% des hommes ont eu plus de cent partenaires sexuels, contre 5% seulement des femmes.
- 10 percent of all men have had more than a hundred sexual partners, as opposed to 5 percent of all women.
- in exchange for
- On peut échanger ces billets contre un repas gratuit.
- These tickets can be exchanged for a free meal.
Derived terms
Verb
contre
- inflection of contrer:
- first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
- second-person singular imperative
Noun
contre m (plural contres)
Descendants
- ⇒ Italian: contrare
Further reading
- “contre”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Anagrams
Middle English
Alternative forms
- conntre, contereie, contray, contraye, contree, contreie, contrey, contreye, countre, cuntre, cuntrei
- cointre, cuntray (Late Middle English)
- contreth, countreth (probably due to confusion of <þ> and <y>; though compare Old French contrede)
Etymology
Borrowed from Old French contree, from Vulgar Latin (terra) contrāta.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /kuntˈreː(ə)/, /kuntˈræi̯(ə)/, /ˈkuntreː/
Noun
contre (plural contrees)
- A region, domain, or area.
- A political subdivision:
- One's mother country; one's homeland.
- The countryside (as opposed to the city)
- The people of a region; the local people.
Descendants
- English: country (see there for further descendants)
- Middle Scots: countre, cuntre, cuntrie
- Scots: kintra
References
- “cǒntrẹ̄(e, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 10 April 2018.
Middle French
Etymology
From Old French contre.
Preposition
contre
Descendants
- French: contre
Old French
Alternative forms
Etymology
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈkuntɾə/
Preposition
contre
Adverb
contre