contracción

contraction

noun kon-trak-SYON Rare

Origin: From Latin contractio, from contrahere (to draw together).

Usage Note

Contracción covers three main senses: a muscular contraction (contracción muscular), an economic contraction (contracción del mercado), and a grammatical contraction. In Spanish grammar the only obligatory contractions are al (a + el) and del (de + el) — all other article-preposition combinations remain separate. English learners sometimes assume Spanish has many contractions as in English; in fact only these two are standard.

Examples

"La contracción del mercado afectó a muchos."

Natural Translation

The market contraction affected many people.

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