contractor
UK[kənˈtræk.tər]US[ˈkɑːn.træk.tər]
n
a person or company that agrees to do work or provide goods for another party, especially in construction.
n
a person or organization that enters into a formal, binding agreement.
Morpheme Breakdown
con
tract
or
con
together
tract
pull, draw
or
person/agent
Etymology
the word contractor is built upon the latin verb 'trahere', meaning to pull or draw. its past participle 'tractus' gives us the root 'tract', which evolved to signify drawing things together, such as in making an agreement. the prefix 'con-' intensifies this notion of pulling together, forming the verb 'contract', meaning to draw parties into a mutual obligation. finally, the agent suffix '-or' is appended, creating a noun for the person who formally draws parties together or undertakes a specific, bound duty, originally in law and later in physical construction.
Analysis
Structure: con (together) + tract (pull, draw) + or (person/agent)
- con: from latin prefix 'com-', meaning 'together, with'. functional role: prefix.
- tract: from latin root 'tractus', from 'trahere' meaning 'to pull, draw'. functional role: root.
- or: from latin suffix '-or', denoting an agent or person who performs an action. functional role: agent noun suffix.
Examples
the general contractor is responsible for hiring all the subcontractors for the building project.
she works as an independent contractor for several tech companies.
the government awarded the contract to the lowest bidder among the competing contractors.