As I type “contract,” trying to imagine how you’ll read it (i.e., where you’ll put the emphasis), I realize that several English words share or build on the root word “contract.” Here’s an odd group:
• a contract that you sign
• to contract into a smaller shape
• a contraction such as “don’t”
• to contract a disease
• a contractor who builds your house because you contracted the work out (presumably, after you both signed a contract)
The word “contract” in all its senses stems from the Latin contractus (com-, “together,” + trahere, “to draw”), which means “to draw together, make a contract.” Ah, so the two main meanings (that is, agreement and shrinking) aren’t that far apart after all!
