| 释义 |
▪ I. ‖ contra, adv., prep. (n.1)|ˈkɒntrə|
[L. contrā adv. and prep.; in its origin the ablative case fem. of an obs. adj. stem *cont(e)r- a comparative from com, con, prep.: cf. citrā, extrā, intrā, ultrā, and Eng. af-ter. For the sense cf. OE. wið with, against, wiðer- against, equivalent to contra- in composition, as in wiðer-sæcᵹan = contrā-dīcere. From philosophical and legal language, the L. word has passed into a restricted English use.]
A. prep.
1. Against. Chiefly in the phrase pro and contra (now generally abbreviated to con), ‘for and against’ (the motion, proposal, etc.).
c1450Henryson Mor. Fab., Tale of Dog 73 Contra and pro, strait argumentis thay resolve. 1480Caxton Chron. Eng. ccliii.* 327 A grete altercacyon among wryters of this mater pro and contra. 1560Rolland Crt. Venus iv. 20 In questionis baith in Contra and Pro. 1605Bacon Adv. Learn. i. vii. §15 See the subtilties of Aristotle, to take a matter both wayes, Pro and Contra, etc.
b. In this sense it is often elliptically taken as a n., and may have a plural.
1563–87Foxe A. & M. (1684) III. 210 After much Pro and Contra, they all consented. a1613Overbury A Wife (1638) 125 His whole life is spent in Pro and contra. 1635Heywood Hierarch. vi. 351 And Pro's and Contra's, not to be refuted. 1884Athenæum 23 Aug. 230/2 He weighs carefully the pros and the contras.
†2. Against. Sc. Obs.
1640–1Kirkcudbr. War-Comm. Min. Bk. (1855) 92 For doeing of executione contra onie persone quhatsumever.
B. adv. On the contrary, to the contrary, contrariwise.
1362Langl. P. Pl. A. ix. 16 ‘Contra’, quod I as a Clerk. 1818Cruise Digest (ed. 2) VI. 70 If inserted it did not conclude, but it might be proved contra, and the verdict might find it contra.
†b. as adj. Contrary. Obs.
1535Stewart Cron. Scot. I. 374 Contra tyde rynnand fra land to land.
C. n.
1. The contrary or opposite; in Book-keeping, the opposite side or column of an account; esp. the right-hand or credit side, in which the liabilities of the trader appear. Also transf.
per contra, It. ‘over against, against, opposite’ (Florio), is commonly used in the sense ‘on the opposite side of the account, on the other hand, as a set-off’. See per.
1648Hamilton Papers (Camden) 176 He is satisfied and laboures the contra. 1849Sk. Nat. Hist., Mammalia IV. 82 The European beaver..displays the same manners and building propensities as its transatlantic brethren; and per contra, the thinly scattered beavers, near the settlements in America are solitary animals, dwelling in burrows like the scattered few along the Rhone. 1891Mod. Commercial Usage, We enclose acct. sale of wool, for the nett proceeds of which we credit you {pstlg}{ddd} and, per contra, we debit you with the amount of your draft for {pstlg}...
2. A thing which is against another; a crossing vein in a mine.
1778W. Pryce Min. Cornub. 105 All veins crossing each other, may be termed Contras in respect of each other.
b. Hence as v.
1778W. Pryce Min. Cornub. 318 When two Lodes run across, the one, or either of them with respect to the other, is called a Caunter, or Contra, for they run caunting, or contra-ing each other.
▪ II. contra, n.2|ˈkɒntrə|
Also Contra.
[a. Sp., abbrev. of contrarrevolucionario counter-revolutionary. Cf. contra adv., prep. (n.).]
In Nicaraguan politics, a counter-revolutionary; spec., a member of the forces opposing the Sandinista government: see Sandinista. Usu. in pl.
1981N.Y. Times 30 Dec. a4/3 The menace of the ‘contrarevolucionarios’ has become such an everyday subject that they too have been abbreviated, emerging as ‘contras.’ 1983N.Y. Times Mag. 22 May 14 Mr. Reagan was especially careful when it came to labelling the group (often called the contras, from the Latin for ‘against’) fighting against the Sandinist regime in Nicaragua. 1984New Yorker 16 Jan. 31/3 When Nicaragua..announced a series of reforms this fall, Reagan and his men announced themselves..encouraged but not nearly pleased enough to cease encouraging the contras. 1985U.S.A. Today 18 Oct. a4/1 Nicaragua's top ‘contra’ leaders condemned the Sandinista regime's suspension of civil rights. 1986Listener 4 Dec. 5/1 Profits from the Iranian arms sales had been diverted to the Contras in Nicaragua in violation of a law banning military aid to the rebels. |