contingency
/kənˈtɪndʒənsi/kuhn-TIN-juhn-see
/kənˈtɪndʒənsi/kuhn-TIN-juhn-see
Meaningthe state of being contingent
Common meaning: a possible future event
Other meanings: a backup plan
- conwith, together; thoroughly
- tingto touchLewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), p. 1840 · scan
- encynoun ending: the quality or state of
‘with, together’ + ‘to touch’ → contingency
Journey through time
- Latincontingens‘touching’source
- Englishcontingent‘depending on something else’
- Englishformed in English from contingentcontingency‘a possible future event’ · today
Sources & notes
Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
- No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
- US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
- No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.
Origin: Formed in English from contingent + -ency.
Dictionary: Skeat (1898), CONTINGENT, p.132 · scan
Roots
- tangō, tetigī, tāctum Latin “to touch”
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