Contents

How to spell contents

8 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce contents

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does contents mean?

1. nounThe things that are held or contained within something.
2. nounThe list at the front of a book or document showing its chapters or sections and their page numbers.
3. verbThird-person singular of the verb meaning to satisfy or make someone feel pleased and at ease.

Contents in a sentence

• noun

  The removal firm insured the contents of the house against damage.

• noun

  The table of contents listed twelve chapters and an index.

• verb

  A modest salary contents him as long as the work is interesting.

• noun

  She emptied the contents of her handbag onto the table to find her keys.

• noun

  He scanned the contents page to find the section on tax relief.

• verb

  She contents herself with a short walk when the gym is closed.

Where does contents come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin verb continere, meaning 'to hold together' or 'to contain', formed from con- 'together' and tenere 'to hold'. Its past participle contentus gave rise both to the adjective meaning 'satisfied' (because a contented person feels held within their own desires) and to the noun sense of 'that which is held inside'. English took the noun through Old French during the late Middle Ages, and by the 1400s 'contents' was used for the things held within a vessel, and a little later for the matters dealt with in a book. The same tenere root sits inside a whole family of English words, including 'contain', 'continent', 'tenant', and 'retain', all sharing the idea of holding. Because the spelling simply stacks the familiar pieces con-tent-s, it rarely traps writers, though the shift of stress in the verb sense can surprise people.

How the word is built

• con- (together)
• tent (from Latin tenere, to hold)
• -s (plural/third-person marker)