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Contingent

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con⋅tin⋅gent

  [kuhn-tin-juhnt]
Use Contingent in a Sentence
–adjective
1. dependent for existence, occurrence, character, etc., on something not yet certain; conditional (often fol. by on or upon): Our plans are contingent on the weather.
2. liable to happen or not; uncertain; possible: They had to plan for contingent expenses.
3. happening by chance or without known cause; fortuitous; accidental: contingent occurrences.
4. Logic. (of a proposition) neither logically necessary nor logically impossible, so that its truth or falsity can be established only by sensory observation.
–noun
5. a quota of troops furnished.
6. any one of the representative groups composing an assemblage: the New York contingent at a national convention.
7. the proportion that falls to one as a share to be contributed or furnished.
8. something contingent; contingency.
Origin:
1350–1400; late ME (prp.) (< MF) < L contingent- (s. of contingēns, prp. of contingere), equiv. to con- con- + ting-, var. s. of tangere to touch + -ent- -ent

Related forms:
con⋅tin⋅gent⋅ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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con·tin·gent   (kən-tĭn'jənt)   
adj.  

  1. Liable to occur but not with certainty; possible: "All salaries are reckoned on contingent as well as on actual services" (Ralph Waldo Emerson).

  2. Dependent on conditions or occurrences not yet established; conditional: arms sales contingent on the approval of Congress. See Synonyms at dependent.

  3. Happening by chance or accident; fortuitous. See Synonyms at accidental.

  4. Logic True only under certain conditions; not necessarily or universally true: a contingent proposition.

n.  

  1. An event or condition that is likely but not inevitable.

  2. A share or quota, as of troops, contributed to a general effort.

  3. A representative group forming part of an assemblage.


[Middle English, from Latin contingēns, contingent-, present participle of contingere, to touch; see contact.]
con·tin'gent·ly adv.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

contingent 
c.1385, from L. contingentem (nom. contingens) "happening, touching," prp. of contingere "to touch" (see contact). Contingency "uncertain incident" is from c.1626.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: con·tin·gent
Pronunciation: k&n-'tin-j&nt
Function: adjective
1 : likely but not certain to happen —compare EXECUTORY
2 : intended for use in circumstances not completely foreseen contingent fund>
3 : dependent on or conditioned by something else contingent claim> contingent on the marriage> —compare VESTED
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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