"contra" meaning in Latin

See contra in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Adverb

IPA: [ˈkɔn.traː] [Classical-Latin], [ˈkɔn.tra] (note: modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) Forms: contrā [canonical]
Etymology: From Proto-Italic *komterād, ablative singular feminine of *komteros (“the other of the two who meet, opposite”). The ablative singular masculine/neuter of the same is continued in Latin contrō-, cognate to Oscan contrud. Ultimately from *kom- + *-teros; thus, a doublet of cum, comparable to the relation between intrā and in, and extrā and ex, but unlike these lacking external cognates, and therefore of Italic origin. The change from instrumental/ablative to accusative is caused by *-teros used adverbially. Etymology templates: {{etymon|la|:inh|itc-pro:*komterād<ety:der<itc-pro:*komteros>>|id=against}}, {{inh|la|itc-pro|*komterād}} Proto-Italic *komterād, {{cog|la|contrō-}} Latin contrō-, {{cog|osc|contrud}} Oscan contrud, {{dbt|la|cum|nocap=1}} doublet of cum Head templates: {{la-adv|contrā|-}} contrā (not comparable)
  1. against Tags: not-comparable
    Sense id: en-contra-la-adv-pxjj6a76 Categories (other): Latin accusative prepositions, Latin prepositions Disambiguation of Latin accusative prepositions: 11 11 33 3 0 11 30 Disambiguation of Latin prepositions: 11 11 33 3 0 11 30
  2. opposite to Tags: not-comparable
    Sense id: en-contra-la-adv-3ZQBZQvR Categories (other): Latin accusative prepositions, Latin prepositions Disambiguation of Latin accusative prepositions: 11 11 33 3 0 11 30 Disambiguation of Latin prepositions: 11 11 33 3 0 11 30
  3. contrary to Tags: not-comparable
    Sense id: en-contra-la-adv-VYkqjcss Categories (other): Latin accusative prepositions, Latin prepositions, Pages using etymon with no ID Disambiguation of Latin accusative prepositions: 11 11 33 3 0 11 30 Disambiguation of Latin prepositions: 11 11 33 3 0 11 30 Disambiguation of Pages using etymon with no ID: 0 2 46 0 0 0 52
  4. otherwise Tags: not-comparable
    Sense id: en-contra-la-adv-jkiuw2N2
  5. in return, back Tags: not-comparable
    Sense id: en-contra-la-adv-bMS5DBQ2

Preposition

IPA: [ˈkɔn.traː] [Classical-Latin], [ˈkɔn.tra] (note: modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) Forms: contrā [canonical]
Etymology: From Proto-Italic *komterād, ablative singular feminine of *komteros (“the other of the two who meet, opposite”). The ablative singular masculine/neuter of the same is continued in Latin contrō-, cognate to Oscan contrud. Ultimately from *kom- + *-teros; thus, a doublet of cum, comparable to the relation between intrā and in, and extrā and ex, but unlike these lacking external cognates, and therefore of Italic origin. The change from instrumental/ablative to accusative is caused by *-teros used adverbially. Etymology templates: {{etymon|la|:inh|itc-pro:*komterād<ety:der<itc-pro:*komteros>>|id=against}}, {{inh|la|itc-pro|*komterād}} Proto-Italic *komterād, {{cog|la|contrō-}} Latin contrō-, {{cog|osc|contrud}} Oscan contrud, {{dbt|la|cum|nocap=1}} doublet of cum Head templates: {{la-prep|contrā|accusative}} contrā (+ accusative)
  1. against Tags: with-accusative
    Sense id: en-contra-la-prep-pxjj6a76 Categories (other): Latin accusative prepositions, Latin prepositions Disambiguation of Latin accusative prepositions: 11 11 33 3 0 11 30 Disambiguation of Latin prepositions: 11 11 33 3 0 11 30
  2. across from, opposite Tags: with-accusative
    Sense id: en-contra-la-prep-o-6FFgm~ Categories (other): Pages with entries, Latin accusative prepositions, Latin entries with incorrect language header, Latin prepositions, Pages using etymon with no ID Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 0 0 0 0 0 1 7 5 0 4 2 4 3 6 1 0 8 5 0 0 1 7 0 7 0 0 6 0 0 0 7 7 7 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 Disambiguation of Latin accusative prepositions: 11 11 33 3 0 11 30 Disambiguation of Latin entries with incorrect language header: 0 5 41 1 0 0 53 Disambiguation of Latin prepositions: 11 11 33 3 0 11 30 Disambiguation of Pages using etymon with no ID: 0 2 46 0 0 0 52
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Derived forms: contrārius
{
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "la",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "itc-pro:*komterād<ety:der<itc-pro:*komteros>>",
        "id": "against"
      },
      "expansion": "",
      "name": "etymon"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "la",
        "2": "itc-pro",
        "3": "*komterād"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Italic *komterād",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "la",
        "2": "contrō-"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin contrō-",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "osc",
        "2": "contrud"
      },
      "expansion": "Oscan contrud",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "la",
        "2": "cum",
        "nocap": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "doublet of cum",
      "name": "dbt"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From Proto-Italic *komterād, ablative singular feminine of *komteros (“the other of the two who meet, opposite”). The ablative singular masculine/neuter of the same is continued in Latin contrō-, cognate to Oscan contrud. Ultimately from *kom- + *-teros; thus, a doublet of cum, comparable to the relation between intrā and in, and extrā and ex, but unlike these lacking external cognates, and therefore of Italic origin.\nThe change from instrumental/ablative to accusative is caused by *-teros used adverbially.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "contrā",
      "tags": [
        "canonical"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "contrā",
        "2": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "contrā (not comparable)",
      "name": "la-adv"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "Latin",
  "lang_code": "la",
  "pos": "adv",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "11 11 33 3 0 11 30",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Latin accusative prepositions",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "11 11 33 3 0 11 30",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Latin prepositions",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "against"
      ],
      "id": "en-contra-la-adv-pxjj6a76",
      "links": [
        [
          "against",
          "against"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "not-comparable"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
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          "_dis": "11 11 33 3 0 11 30",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Latin accusative prepositions",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
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        {
          "_dis": "11 11 33 3 0 11 30",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Latin prepositions",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "opposite to"
      ],
      "id": "en-contra-la-adv-3ZQBZQvR",
      "links": [
        [
          "opposite",
          "opposite"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "not-comparable"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "11 11 33 3 0 11 30",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Latin accusative prepositions",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "11 11 33 3 0 11 30",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Latin prepositions",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "0 2 46 0 0 0 52",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages using etymon with no ID",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "contrary to"
      ],
      "id": "en-contra-la-adv-VYkqjcss",
      "links": [
        [
          "contrary",
          "contrary"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "not-comparable"
      ]
    },
    {
      "glosses": [
        "otherwise"
      ],
      "id": "en-contra-la-adv-jkiuw2N2",
      "links": [
        [
          "otherwise",
          "otherwise"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "not-comparable"
      ]
    },
    {
      "glosses": [
        "in return, back"
      ],
      "id": "en-contra-la-adv-bMS5DBQ2",
      "links": [
        [
          "return",
          "return"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "not-comparable"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "[ˈkɔn.traː]",
      "tags": [
        "Classical-Latin"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "[ˈkɔn.tra]",
      "note": "modern Italianate Ecclesiastical"
    }
  ],
  "word": "contra"
}

{
  "derived": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "contrārius"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "la",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "itc-pro:*komterād<ety:der<itc-pro:*komteros>>",
        "id": "against"
      },
      "expansion": "",
      "name": "etymon"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "la",
        "2": "itc-pro",
        "3": "*komterād"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Italic *komterād",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "la",
        "2": "contrō-"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin contrō-",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "osc",
        "2": "contrud"
      },
      "expansion": "Oscan contrud",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "la",
        "2": "cum",
        "nocap": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "doublet of cum",
      "name": "dbt"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From Proto-Italic *komterād, ablative singular feminine of *komteros (“the other of the two who meet, opposite”). The ablative singular masculine/neuter of the same is continued in Latin contrō-, cognate to Oscan contrud. Ultimately from *kom- + *-teros; thus, a doublet of cum, comparable to the relation between intrā and in, and extrā and ex, but unlike these lacking external cognates, and therefore of Italic origin.\nThe change from instrumental/ablative to accusative is caused by *-teros used adverbially.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "contrā",
      "tags": [
        "canonical"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "contrā",
        "2": "accusative"
      },
      "expansion": "contrā (+ accusative)",
      "name": "la-prep"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "Latin",
  "lang_code": "la",
  "pos": "prep",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "11 11 33 3 0 11 30",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Latin accusative prepositions",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "11 11 33 3 0 11 30",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Latin prepositions",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "against"
      ],
      "id": "en-contra-la-prep-pxjj6a76",
      "links": [
        [
          "against",
          "against"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "with-accusative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "0 0 0 0 0 1 7 5 0 4 2 4 3 6 1 0 8 5 0 0 1 7 0 7 0 0 6 0 0 0 7 7 7 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "11 11 33 3 0 11 30",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Latin accusative prepositions",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "0 5 41 1 0 0 53",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Latin entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "11 11 33 3 0 11 30",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Latin prepositions",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "0 2 46 0 0 0 52",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages using etymon with no ID",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "across from, opposite"
      ],
      "id": "en-contra-la-prep-o-6FFgm~",
      "links": [
        [
          "across",
          "across"
        ],
        [
          "opposite",
          "opposite"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "with-accusative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "[ˈkɔn.traː]",
      "tags": [
        "Classical-Latin"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "[ˈkɔn.tra]",
      "note": "modern Italianate Ecclesiastical"
    }
  ],
  "word": "contra"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "Latin 2-syllable words",
    "Latin accusative prepositions",
    "Latin adverbs",
    "Latin doublets",
    "Latin entries with incorrect language header",
    "Latin lemmas",
    "Latin prepositions",
    "Latin terms derived from Proto-Indo-European",
    "Latin terms derived from Proto-Italic",
    "Latin terms inherited from Proto-Italic",
    "Latin terms with IPA pronunciation",
    "Latin uncomparable adverbs",
    "Pages using etymon with no ID",
    "Pages with 14 entries",
    "Pages with entries",
    "Pages with inline etymon for redlinks"
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "la",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "itc-pro:*komterād<ety:der<itc-pro:*komteros>>",
        "id": "against"
      },
      "expansion": "",
      "name": "etymon"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "la",
        "2": "itc-pro",
        "3": "*komterād"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Italic *komterād",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "la",
        "2": "contrō-"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin contrō-",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "osc",
        "2": "contrud"
      },
      "expansion": "Oscan contrud",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "la",
        "2": "cum",
        "nocap": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "doublet of cum",
      "name": "dbt"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From Proto-Italic *komterād, ablative singular feminine of *komteros (“the other of the two who meet, opposite”). The ablative singular masculine/neuter of the same is continued in Latin contrō-, cognate to Oscan contrud. Ultimately from *kom- + *-teros; thus, a doublet of cum, comparable to the relation between intrā and in, and extrā and ex, but unlike these lacking external cognates, and therefore of Italic origin.\nThe change from instrumental/ablative to accusative is caused by *-teros used adverbially.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "contrā",
      "tags": [
        "canonical"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "contrā",
        "2": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "contrā (not comparable)",
      "name": "la-adv"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "Latin",
  "lang_code": "la",
  "pos": "adv",
  "senses": [
    {
      "glosses": [
        "against"
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "against",
          "against"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "not-comparable"
      ]
    },
    {
      "glosses": [
        "opposite to"
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "opposite",
          "opposite"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "not-comparable"
      ]
    },
    {
      "glosses": [
        "contrary to"
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "contrary",
          "contrary"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "not-comparable"
      ]
    },
    {
      "glosses": [
        "otherwise"
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "otherwise",
          "otherwise"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "not-comparable"
      ]
    },
    {
      "glosses": [
        "in return, back"
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "return",
          "return"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "not-comparable"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "[ˈkɔn.traː]",
      "tags": [
        "Classical-Latin"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "[ˈkɔn.tra]",
      "note": "modern Italianate Ecclesiastical"
    }
  ],
  "word": "contra"
}

{
  "categories": [
    "Latin 2-syllable words",
    "Latin accusative prepositions",
    "Latin adverbs",
    "Latin doublets",
    "Latin entries with incorrect language header",
    "Latin lemmas",
    "Latin prepositions",
    "Latin terms derived from Proto-Indo-European",
    "Latin terms derived from Proto-Italic",
    "Latin terms inherited from Proto-Italic",
    "Latin terms with IPA pronunciation",
    "Latin uncomparable adverbs",
    "Pages using etymon with no ID",
    "Pages with 14 entries",
    "Pages with entries",
    "Pages with inline etymon for redlinks"
  ],
  "derived": [
    {
      "word": "contrārius"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "la",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "itc-pro:*komterād<ety:der<itc-pro:*komteros>>",
        "id": "against"
      },
      "expansion": "",
      "name": "etymon"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "la",
        "2": "itc-pro",
        "3": "*komterād"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Italic *komterād",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "la",
        "2": "contrō-"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin contrō-",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "osc",
        "2": "contrud"
      },
      "expansion": "Oscan contrud",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "la",
        "2": "cum",
        "nocap": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "doublet of cum",
      "name": "dbt"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From Proto-Italic *komterād, ablative singular feminine of *komteros (“the other of the two who meet, opposite”). The ablative singular masculine/neuter of the same is continued in Latin contrō-, cognate to Oscan contrud. Ultimately from *kom- + *-teros; thus, a doublet of cum, comparable to the relation between intrā and in, and extrā and ex, but unlike these lacking external cognates, and therefore of Italic origin.\nThe change from instrumental/ablative to accusative is caused by *-teros used adverbially.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "contrā",
      "tags": [
        "canonical"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "contrā",
        "2": "accusative"
      },
      "expansion": "contrā (+ accusative)",
      "name": "la-prep"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "Latin",
  "lang_code": "la",
  "pos": "prep",
  "senses": [
    {
      "glosses": [
        "against"
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "against",
          "against"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "with-accusative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "glosses": [
        "across from, opposite"
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "across",
          "across"
        ],
        [
          "opposite",
          "opposite"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "with-accusative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "[ˈkɔn.traː]",
      "tags": [
        "Classical-Latin"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "[ˈkɔn.tra]",
      "note": "modern Italianate Ecclesiastical"
    }
  ],
  "word": "contra"
}

Download raw JSONL data for contra meaning in Latin (4.6kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable Latin dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2026-02-01 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2026-01-01 using wiktextract (f492ef9 and 9905b1f). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

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