n. [ OE. conteck, conteke, contake, perh. a corruption either of contact or contest. ] 1. Quarrel; contention; contest. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Contek with bloody knife. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Contumely; reproach. [ Obs. ] Wyclif. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n.; pl. Contes /plu>. [ F. ] A short narrative or tale, esp. one dealing with surprising or marvelous events.

The conte (sic) is a tale something more than a sketch, it may be, and something less than a short story. . . . The “Canterbury Tales” are contes, most of them, if not all, and so are some of the “Tales of a Wayside Inn.” Brander Matthews. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. [ L. contegere, -tectum, to cover up. ] A covering. [ Obs. ] Sir T. Browne. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Contemned p. pr. & vb. n. Contemning ] [ L. contemnere, -temptum; con- + temnere to slight, despise: cf. OF. contemner. ] To view or treat with contempt, as mean and despicable; to reject with disdain; to despise; to scorn. [ 1913 Webster ]

Thy pompous delicacies I contemn. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

One who contemned divine and human laws. Dryden.

Syn. -- To despise; scorn; disdain; spurn; slight; neglect; underrate; overlook. -- To Contemn, Despise, Scorn, Disdain. Contemn is the generic term, and is applied especially to objects, qualities, etc., which are deemed contemptible, and but rarely to individuals; to despise is to regard or treat as mean, unbecoming, or worthless; to scorn is stronger, expressing a quick, indignant contempt; disdain is still stronger, denoting either unwarrantable pride and haughtiness or an abhorrence of what is base. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who contemns; a despiser; a scorner. “Contemners of the gods.” South. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. Contemptuously. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ L. contemperare, -temperatum; con- + temperare to temper. Cf. Contemperate. ] To modify or temper; to allay; to qualify; to moderate; to soften. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

The antidotes . . . have allayed its bitterness and contempered its malignancy. Johnson. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ See Contemper. ] To temper; to moderate. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Moisten and contemperate the air. Sir T. Browne. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. The act of tempering or moderating. [ Obs. ] Sir T. Browne. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Proportionate mixture or combination. “Contemperation of light and shade.” Boyle. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The condition of being tempered; proportionate mixture; temperature. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

The different contemperature of the elements. South. [ 1913 Webster ]