Shortened forms of words where letters are replaced with apostrophes (like 'don't' for 'do not'), or the tightening and shortening of muscles.
From Latin 'contractus' meaning 'drawn together.' The word applies both to grammar (where words are drawn together into shorter form) and physiology (where muscles draw together and shorten).
Contractions are one of those rare words that work exactly the same way in grammar and medicine—both involve things pulling together and getting smaller. Your uterus contracts during labor, your heart contracts with every beat, and your words contract when you write 'can't' instead of 'cannot.'
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