kən.ˈtrakchə(r), -kshə- noun
( -s )
Etymology: Latin contractura drawing together, from contractus (past participle of contrahere to draw together) + -ura -ure — more at contract
1. architecture : a narrowing of the girth of a column (as at the top) — compare entasis
2.
a. : a permanent shortening of muscle, tendon, fascia, or scar tissue producing deformity or distortion — see dupuytren's contracture , ischemic contracture
b. : an atypical contraction of skeletal muscle differing from the twitch and from tetanus in the slowness of its development and relaxation, in the absence of summation, and in anomalies of the associated electrical phenomena