Online Etymology Dictionary

contra-: word-forming element meaning "against, in opposition," from Latin adverb and preposition contra (see contra). The Latin word was used as a prefix in Late Latin. In French, it became contre- and passed into English as counter-. The Old English equivalent was wiðer (surviving in withers and widdershins), from wið "with, against."
contraband (n.): 1520s, "smuggling;" 1590s, "smuggled goods;" from Middle French contrebande "a smuggling," from older Italian contrabando (modern contrabbando) "unlawful dealing," from Latin contra "against" (see contra) + Medieval Latin bannum, from Frankish *ban "a command" or some other Germanic source (see ban (v.)).
contraception (n.): "birth control," coined 1886 from Latin contra (see contra) + ending from conception.
contraceptive: 1891 (n.), 1918 (adj.), from stem of contraception + -ive.
contract (v.): late 14c., "make narrow, draw together;" early 15c. "make an agreement;" from Middle French contracter, from Latin contractus, past participle of contrahere "to draw together, combine, make an agreement" (see contract (n.)). Related: Contracted; contracting.
contract (n.): early 14c., from Old French contract (Modern French contrat), from Latin contractus "a contract, agreement," from past participle of contrahere "to draw together," metaphorically, "to make a bargain," from com- "together" (see com-) + trahere "to draw" (see tract (n.1)). U.S. underworld sense of "arrangement to kill someone" first recorded 1940.
contracted (adj.): c.1600, "agreed upon," also "shrunken, shortened," past participle adjective from contract (v.).
contractile (adj.): 1706, from French contractile, from Latin contract-, past participle stem of contrahere (see contract (n.)). Related: Contractility. Contractile vacuole is from 1877.
contraction (n.): late 14c., "action of making a contract" (especially of marriage), also "action of shrinking or shortening," from Old French contraction (13c.), or directly from Latin contractionem (nominative contractio), noun of action from past participle stem of contrahere (see contract (n.)). Meaning "action of acquiring (a disease) is from c.1600. Grammatical sense is from 1706; meaning "a contracted word or words" is from 1755. Contractions of the uterus in labor of childbirth attested from 1962.
contractor (n.): 1540s, "one who enters into a contract," from Late Latin contractor, agent noun from past participle stem of Latin contrahere (see contract (n.)); specifically of "one who enters into a contract to provide work, services, or goods" from 1724.
contractual (adj.): 1827, from Latin contractus (see contract (n.)) + -al (1).
contracture (n.): 1650s, from French contracture, from Latin contractura "a drawing together," from contractus, past participle of contrahere (see contract (n.)).
contradict (v.): 1570s, "speak against," also "assert the contrary" (1580s), from Latin contradictus, past participle of contradicere (see contradiction). Related: Contradicted; contradicting; contradictive.
contradiction (n.): late 14c., from Old French contradiction or directly from Latin contradictionem (nominative contradictio) "a reply, objection, counterargument," noun of action from past participle stem of contradicere, in classical Latin contra dicere "to speak against," from contra "against" (see contra) + dicere "to speak" (see diction).
contradictory (adj.): 1530s, "mutually opposed, at variance," from Late Latin contradictorius "containing a contradiction or objection," from contradictus, past participle of contradicere (see contradiction). Meaning "fond of contradicting" is from 1891. Used earlier as a noun (late 14c.).
contradistinction (n.): 1640s, from contra- + distinction.
contrail (n.): 1945, from condensation trail.
contraindicate (v.): 1660s, from contra- + indicate. Related: Contraindicated; contraindication (1620s).
contralateral (adj.): 1882, from contra- + lateral.
contralto (n.): "lowest female voice," 1730, from Italian contralto; see contra- "against, opposite" + alto. The part next above the alto.
contraposition (n.): 1550s, from Late Latin contrapositionem (nominative contrapositio), noun of action from past participle stem of contraponere, from contra "against" (see contra) + ponere "to put, place" (see position (n.)).
contrapositive (adj.): 1858 (implied in contrapositively), from Latin contraposit-, past participle stem of contraponere (see contraposition) + -ive.
contrapposto (n.): 1903, from Italian contrapposto, past participle of contrapporre, from Latin contraponere (see contraposition).
contraption (n.): 1825, western England dialect, origin obscure, perhaps from con(trive) + trap, or deception.
contrapuntal (adj.): 1845, from Italian contrapunto "counterpoint," also "backstitch," from contra "against" (see contra) + punto "point" (see point (n.)). Musical use is from Medieval Latin cantus contrapunctis. Cf. counterpoint. Related: Contrapuntally.
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.).