Both Uses of
contract
in
The Scarlet Letter
- Did I make a contract with him in the forest, and sign it with my blood?
p. 206.3 *contract = formal agreement
- Unless people are more than commonly disagreeable, it is my foolish habit to contract a kindness for them.†
p. 16.4
Definitions:
-
(1)
(contract as in: legal contract) an agreement - typically written and enforceable by law
-
(2)
(contract as in: contract the disease) to get -- especially in reference to a disease
-
(3)
(contract as in: the metal contracted) when something gets shorter or smaller
-
(4)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) meaning too rare to warrant focus:
A grammatical sense of the word form contraction describes can't as a shortened form of can not.