CONTRACT

I. noun Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin ~us, from contrahere to draw together, make a ~, reduce in size, from com- + trahere to draw Date: 14th century 1. a binding agreement between two or more persons or parties, a business arrangement for the supply of goods or services at a fixed price , the act of marriage or an agreement to marry, a document describing the terms of a ~, the final bid to win a specified number of tricks in bridge, an order or arrangement for a hired assassin to kill someone , II. verb Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French or Latin; Middle French ~er to agree upon, from Latin ~us Date: 14th century transitive verb 1. to bring on oneself especially inadvertently ; incur , to become affected with , 2. to establish or undertake by ~ , betroth , c. to hire by ~ , to purchase (as goods or services) on a ~ basis, 3. limit , restrict , knit , wrinkle , to draw together ; concentrate , to reduce to smaller size by or as if by squeezing or forcing together , to shorten (as a word) by omitting one or more sounds or letters, intransitive verb to make a ~, to draw together so as to become diminished in size , ~ibility noun ~ible adjective Synonyms: see: ~ III. adjective Date: 1936 hired to execute a ~