Content

How to spell content

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce content

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does content mean?

1. nounThe material, substance, or information held within something such as a container, document, or website.
2. adjectiveFeeling quietly satisfied and at ease with one's situation.
3. verbTo satisfy oneself or accept something as enough, often settling for less.

Content in a sentence

• noun

  The lab tested the sugar content of each drink.

• adjective

  After the promotion he felt entirely content with his career.

• verb

  With no dessert left, they had to content themselves with fruit.

• noun

  She reviewed the content of the report before publishing it.

• adjective

  She was content to stay home and read all weekend.

• verb

  He chose to content himself with a brief summary rather than the full file.

Where does content come from?

Language of origin: Latin

Both readings of this word trace back to the Latin verb continere, meaning 'to hold together' or 'to contain', formed from con- 'together' and tenere 'to hold'. The noun sense, stressed on the first syllable, grew from the past participle contentum, literally 'that which is held or contained', and came into English in the late 1300s to mean the things held inside a vessel, a book, or a space. The adjective and verb sense, stressed on the second syllable, arrived through Old French content from the Latin contentus, the same past participle used figuratively to mean 'restrained' or 'satisfied', the idea being that a contented person's desires are held in check and need nothing more. So the gentle feeling of being satisfied and the practical idea of stuff inside a box are really the same Latin root pulling in two directions. The shared spelling but split stress is exactly why 'content' is a classic heteronym, with the meaning decided only by which syllable you emphasise.

How the word is built

• con- (together, fully)
• tent (from Latin tenere: to hold)