Contraction

The shortening or drawing together of a word by the omission of one or more letters, and sometimes of a syllable. This was a peculiar feature of the ancient court hand (q. v.) in which records were written in England; and was adopted in the earliest printed law books in Latin and French, such as Bracton, The Register, Bntton, and others. The most common kind of contraction was by the omission of the letters m and n when they followed a vowel, the omission being denoted by a horizontal mark or dash over the latter. Various other arbitrary marks over and through the letters retained were employed, which cannot be represented without types cast expressly for the purpose. The following is a list of the prmcipal contractions, as taken from the works above mentioned: a for am; as ta for tam. a for an; as ate for ante. e for em; as ide for idem, e for en; Hs metio for mentio. e for OB; as hec for hcec, i for im; as eni for enim. i for in; as iter for inter. 0 for om; as ont for omni, o for omn; as oes for omnes, 0 for on; as cotra for contra, u for um; aa du for dum. u for un; as nuc for nunc, 6' for bus; as ho Bredib' for hceredibus, d* for dus; as secund* for aecundus. p* for ffis; as reg* for r«yw. t' or^" for tw« or^M*; as cuV for cw;tt«. V for /u«; as mascuV for mcucuZ?!^. «i' for mu8; as prcecipim* for prcedpimus, n' for 7iw«; as man* for manutf. n for omin; dno for domino, p for ^r; as pactis for peractia, p for jwcB; as pdictus for prc Bdictus. p for j9ro; as />pter for propter. p* for j?t«; as corp* for corpus. q and ^cf for ^uo(f. g for gtiam; qvis for quamvis. r* for W«; as tutor* for /u^om. r for rev; as 6rc for breve. r for rwm; as alior for aliorum. r for ra^; as ^na for gratia. t* for /t«; as doV for (/o^t«. f for <M»; as red* for rectus. The following are examples of double or more complex contractions: ateq for antequam. Bract, fol. 204 b. coem for comwuriem. j Rcpr. Orig. 11. coponit* for componitur. Bract, fol. 222. cro for crastino. Tovms. PI. 141. ^anu for ofamnum. Bract, fol. 221. epi, epo for episcopi, <kc. /cf. fol. 249. Ami for hujusmodi. Id. fol. 180. i6m for ibidem. Beg. Orig. 97 b. moledinu (or molendinum. Bract. to\. 221. noia for nomina. Id. fol. 212 b. nrm for nostrum. Id. fol. 249. ot6« for omnibus. Tovms, PI. 21. ostededu for ostendendum. Beg. Orig. 70. ^ for pradictus. Id. 10 b. ^erfe/« for pendente. Id. 77 b. phibic (or prohibitionem. Id. 67 b. wrfm for secundum. Id. 11, 76, 117. tofu for tantum. Bract. foL 206. The following are some of the principal contractions in French: aps for apres. ava for avera. auc for aunc^tf^re. 5re for brefe. c for cw. do for (fon«. e for en. ee for e^rtf. ^e/z for gentz. nre for no«/r«. p for;?er, /wr. i>'c'^* for 2>ur ceo que. pole for parole. sank for saunk. s, so for «on. ^en/ for tenement. teps for /emp«. tme for ^erm«. V* for vers. Britt. passim.