All 3 Uses of
contingency
in
Moby Dick
- * *The sperm whale, as with all other species of the Leviathan, but unlike most other fish, breeds indifferently at all seasons; after a gestation which may probably be set down at nine months, producing but one at a time; though in some few known instances giving birth to an Esau and Jacob:—a contingency provided for in suckling by two teats, curiously situated, one on each side of the anus; but the breasts themselves extend upwards from that.†
Chpt 85-87contingency = something that might happen; or something available in case an event occurs
- It frequently happens that when several ships are cruising in company, a whale may be struck by one vessel, then escape, and be finally killed and captured by another vessel; and herein are indirectly comprised many minor contingencies, all partaking of this one grand feature.†
Chpt 88-90contingencies = things that might happen; or things available in case events happen
- How glad and how grateful the relief from this unnatural hallucination of the night, and the fatal contingency of being brought by the lee!†
Chpt 94-96 *contingency = something that might happen; or something available in case an event occurs
Definition:
something that might happen -- especially something that it is hoped will not happen
or more rarely:
something available in case of an event -- especially an event that it is hoped will not occur
or more rarely:
something available in case of an event -- especially an event that it is hoped will not occur