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protract

 [proh-trakt, pruh-]   Origin

pro·tract

   [proh-trakt, pruh-]
verb (used with object)
1.
to draw out or lengthen, especially in time; extend the duration of; prolong.
2.
Anatomy. to extend or protrude.
3.
(in surveying, mathematics, etc.) to plot and draw (lines) with a scale and a protractor.
Origin:
1540–50; < Latin prōtractus (past participle of prōtrahere to draw forth, prolong). See pro-1, tract1

Related forms
pro·tract·ed·ly, adverb
pro·tract·ed·ness, noun
pro·tract·i·ble, adjective
pro·trac·tive, adjective
o·ver·pro·tract, verb (used with object)
EXPAND
un·pro·tract·ed, adjective
un·pro·trac·tive, adjective
COLLAPSE

Synonyms
1. continue. See lengthen.

Antonyms
1. curtail.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Protract is always a great word to know.
So is intrinsic. Does it mean:
belonging to or lying within a given part of certain muscles or nerves
a group of cells or organ producing a secretion or selectively removing, altering or concentrating materials from blood for elimination from the body
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Collins
World English Dictionary
protract (prəˈtrækt)
 
—vb
1.  to lengthen or extend (a speech, etc); prolong in time
2.  (of a muscle) to draw, thrust, or extend (a part, etc) forwards
3.  to plot or draw using a protractor and scale
 
[C16: from Latin prōtrahere to prolong, from pro-1 + trahere to drag]
 
pro'tractive
 
—adj

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

protract
1530s (implied in protraction), "prolongation, extension of time," from L.L. protractionem "a drawing out or lengthening," from pp. stem of protrahere, from pro- "forward" + trahere "to draw" (see tract (1)). Etymologically identical with portray, which was altered in French.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

protract pro·tract (prō-trākt', prə-)
v. pro·tract·ed, pro·tract·ing, pro·tracts
To extend or protrude a body part.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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