English
contingent
Contingent comes from Medieval Latin contingens ‘possible, contingent’, from contingere ‘to touch, meet, attain to, happen’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *teh₂g-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*teh₂g-‘to touch’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*tangō‘to touch’reconstructed
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500tangōas tangere‘to touch’
- Medieval Latin, derivedc. 600–1500contingere‘to touch, meet, attain to, happen’next step skipped: Medieval Latin contingō
- Medieval Latin, derivedc. 600–1500contingens‘possible, contingent’present participle of contingere
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400contingent
- Englishearliest quotation 1989contingent
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*teh₂g-‘to touch’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*tangō‘to touch’reconstructed
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500tangōas tangere‘to touch’
- Medieval Latin, derivedc. 600–1500contingere‘to touch, meet, attain to, happen’next step skipped: Medieval Latin contingō
- Medieval Latin, derivedc. 600–1500contingens‘possible, contingent’present participle of contingere
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400contingent
- Englishearliest quotation 1989contingent
Earliest quotation: 1989, Thurgood Marshall, Dissenting Opinion: “The imposition of the death penalty should not be…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *teh₂g- ‘to touch’
taste, integrity, taxis, attain, integrate, taxonomy, tama, talon, contagion, ataxia, tactician, talus, contaminate, thwack, 28 more
through Proto-Italic *tangō ‘to touch’
through Medieval Latin tangō ‘to touch’
Today it means
noun An event which may or may not happen; that which is unforeseen, undetermined, or dependent on something in the future.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *teh₂g- / contingent