Online Etymology Dictionary

contrarian (n.): 1963, from contrary + -ian.
To be in opposition is not to be a nihilist. And there is no decent or charted way of making a living at it. It is something you are, and not something you do. [Christopher Hitchens, "Letters to a Young Contrarian," 2001]
contrariety (n.): late 14c., from Old French contrarieté, from Late Latin contrarietatem (nominative contrarietas) "opposition," noun of quality from contrarius (see contrary).
contrariness (n.): late 14c., "state of being contrary," from contrary + -ness. Meaning "fondness of opposition" is from 1640s.
contrary (adj.): mid-14c., from Anglo-French contrarie, from Latin contrarius "opposite, opposed," from contra "against" (see contra).
If we take the statement All men are mortal, its contrary is Not all men are mortal, its converse is All mortal beings are men, & its opposite is No men are mortal. The contrary, however, does not exclude the opposite, but includes it as its most extreme form. Thus This is white has only one opposite, This is black, but many contraries, as This is not white, This is coloured, This is dirty, This is black; & whether the last form is called the contrary, or more emphatically the opposite, is usually indifferent. But to apply the opposite to a mere contrary (e.g. to I did not hit him in relation to I hit him, which has no opposite), or to the converse (e.g. to He hit me in relation to I hit him, to which it is neither contrary nor opposite), is a looseness that may easily result in misunderstanding; the temptation to go wrong is intelligible when it is remembered that with certain types of sentence (A exceeds B) the converse & the opposite are identical (B exceeds A). [Fowler]
As a noun from late 13c. Related: Contrarily; contrariwise.
Contras (n.): see Contra.
contrast (v.): 1690s, from French contraster (Old French contrester), modified by or from Italian contrastare "stand out against, strive, contend," from Vulgar Latin *contrastare "to withstand," from Latin contra "against" (see contra) + stare "to stand," from PIE root *sta- "to stand" (see stet).

Middle English had contrest "to fight against, to withstand," which became extinct. Modern word re-introduced as an art term. Related: Contrasted; contrasting; contrastive.
contrast (n.): 1711, from contrast (v.).
contrasting (adj.): 1715, present participle adjective from contrast (v.). From 1680s as a verbal noun.
contravene (v.): 1560s, from Middle French contravenir "to transgress, decline, depart," from Late Latin contravenire "to come against," in Medieval Latin "to transgress," from Latin contra "against" (see contra) + venire "to come" (see venue). Related: Contravened; contravening.
contravening (n.): 1640s, verbal noun from contravene; from 1802 as a present participle adjective.
contravention (n.): 1570s, from Middle French contravention, from Vulgar Latin *contraventionem, noun of action from past participle stem of contravenire (see contravene).
contretemps (n.): 1680s, "a blunder in fencing," from French contre-temps "motion out of time, unfortunate accident, bad times;" from Latin contra + tempus (see temporal). As a ballet term, from 1706; as "an unfortunate accident," 1802; as "a dispute," from 1961.
contribute (v.): 1520s, from Latin contributus, past participle of contribuere "to bring together, add, unite, collect, contribute" (see contribution). Figurative sense is from 1630s. Related: Contributed; contributing.
contribution (n.): late 14c., from Old French contribution and directly from Latin contributionem (nominative contributio), noun of action from past participle stem of contribuere "to bring together, add, contribute," from com- "together" (see com-) + tribuere "to allot, pay" (see tribute).
contributor (n.): also contributer, mid-15c., from Anglo-French contributour, from Vulgar Latin *contributorem, agent noun from contribut-, stem of contribuere (see contribution). Related: Contributory (early 15c.).
contrite (adj.): c.1300, from Old French contrit and directly from Latin contritus, literally "worn out, ground to pieces," past participle of conterere "to grind," from com- "together" (see com-) + terere "to rub" (see throw (v.)). Used in English in figurative sense of "crushed in spirit by a sense of sin." Related: Contritely.
contrition (n.): c.1300, contrycyun, from Old French contriciun (Modern French contrition) and directly from Latin contritionem (nominative contritio), noun of action from past participle stem of conterere (see contrite).
contrivance (n.): 1620s, from contrive + -ance.
contrive (v.): early 14c., from Old French controver (Modern French controuver) "to find out, contrive, imagine," from Late Latin contropare "to compare" (via a figure of speech), from Latin com- "with" (see com-) + tropus "song, musical mode," from Greek tropos "figure of speech" (see trope).

Sense evolution (in French) was from "invent with ingenuity" to "invent falsely." Spelled contreve until unexplained 15c. sound change that also affected briar, friar, choir. Related: Contrived; contriving.
control (v.): early 14c., "to check, verify, regulate," from Anglo-French contreroller "exert authority," from Medieval Latin contrarotulus "a counter, register," from Latin contra- "against" (see contra) + rotulus, diminutive of rota "wheel" (see roll (n.)). From a medieval method of checking accounts by a duplicate register. Sense of "dominate, direct" is mid-15c. Related: Controlled; controlling.

Control group in scientific experiments is attested from 1952 (from a sense of control attested since 1875).
control (n.): 1580s, from control (v.). Control freak is late 1960s slang.
controllable (adj.): 1570s, from control (v.) + -able.
controlled (adj.): 1580s, past participle adjective from control (v.). Of rent, from c.1930.
controller (n.): late 14c., from Anglo-French contrerolleour (late 13c.), Old French contrerelleor (Modern French contrôleur), from Medieval Latin contrarotulator, agent noun from *contra-rotulare (see control (v.)). Mechanical sense is from 1867.
controlling (adj.): "overbearing," 1570s, present participle adjective from control (v.).
controversal (adj.): 1610s, from Latin controversus "turned against" (see controversy) + -al (1).
controversary (adj.): c.1600, from stem of Latin controversus (see controversy) + -ary.
controverse (v.): c.1600, from French controversé, from Latin controversus (see controversy).
controversial (adj.): 1580s, from Late Latin controversialis "pertaining to controversy," from Latin controversia (see controversy).
controversy (n.): late 14c., from Old French controversie or directly from Latin controversia, from controversus "turned in an opposite direction, disputed, turned against," from contra- "against" (see contra) + versus (see verse).
controvert (v.): c.1600, probably a back-formation from controversy. Related: Controverted; controverting; controvertible.
contumacious (adj.): c.1600, from Latin contumaci-, stem of contumax "haughty, insolent, obstinate" (see contumely) + -ous.
contumacy (n.): late 14c., from Latin contumacia "haughtiness, insolence," noun of quality from contumax (see contumely).
contumelious (adj.): late 15c., from Old French contumelieus, from Latin contumeliosus "reproachful, insolently abusive," from contumelia (see contumely).
contumely (n.): late 14c., from Old French contumelie, from Latin contumelia "a reproach, insult," probably related to contumax "haughty, stubborn," from com-, intensive prefix (see com-), + tumere "to swell up" (see thigh).
The unhappy man left his country forever. The howl of contumely followed him across the sea, up the Rhine, over the Alps; it gradually waxed fainter; it died away; those who had raised it began to ask each other, what, after all, was the matter about which they had been so clamorous, and wished to invite back the criminal whom they had just chased from them. [Thomas Babington Macaulay, "Lord Byron," 1877]
contusion (n.): c.1400, from Middle French contusion, from Latin contusionem (nominative contusio) "crushing, bruising," from contus-, past participle stem of contundere "to beat, break to pieces," from com-, intensive prefix (see com-), + tundere "to beat" (see obtuse).
contusive (adj.): 1798, from Latin contus-, past participle stem of contundere (see contusion) + -ive.
conundrum (n.): 1590s, Oxford University slang for "pedant," also "whim," etc., later (1790) "riddle, puzzle." Also spelled quonundrum. The sort of ponderous pseudo-Latin word that was once the height of humor in learned circles.
conurbation (n.): 1915, from Latin com- "with, together" (see com-) + urbs "city" + -ation. Coined by Scottish biologist and urban planner Patrick Geddes (1854-1932) in "Cities in Evolution."
conus (n.): 1885, from Latin conus "cone" (see cone).
convalesce (v.): late 15c., from Latin convalescere "thrive, regain health," from com-, intensive prefix (see com-), + valescere "to begin to grow strong," inchoative of valere "to be strong" (see valiant). Only in Caxton and Scottish writers until 19c. Related: Convalesced; convalescing.
convalescence (n.): late 15c., from Middle French convalescence (15c.), from Late Latin convalescentia "regaining of health," from convalescentem (nominative convalescens), present participle of convalescere (see convalesce).
convalescent (adj.): 1650s, from French convalescent, from Latin convalescentem (nominative convalescens), present participle of convalescere (see convalesce). As a noun, attested from 1758.
convection (n.): 1620s, from Latin convectionem (nominative convectio) "the act of carrying," noun of action from past participle stem of convehere "to carry together," from com- "together" (see com-) + vehere "to carry" (see vehicle). Related: Convective. Convection current recorded from 1868.
convenance (n.): late 15c., from French convenance "convention, agreement, convenience," from convenant, present participle of convenir "to come together" (see convene).
convene (v.): early 15c., from Middle French convenir "to suit, agree," from Latin convenire "unite, be suitable, agree, assemble," from com- "together" (see com-) + venire "to come" (see venue). Related: Convened; convener; convening.
convenience (n.): late 14c., "agreement, conformity," from Latin convenientia "meeting together, agreement, harmony," from conveniens, present participle of convenire (see convene). Meaning "suitable, adapted to existing conditions" is from c.1600; that of "personally not difficult" is from 1703.
conveniences (n.): "material appliances conducive to personal comfort," 1670s, plural of convenience.
convenient (adj.): late 14c., from Latin convenientem (nominative conveniens), present participle of convenire (see convene).
conveniently (adv.): late 14c., "harmoniously," from convenient + -ly (2). Meaning "in a way that avoids difficulty" is from c.1500.