Contender

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /kənˈtɛn.dɚ/

Definitions

1. An individual or group engaged in a competition or rivalry aiming for success or recognition in their pursuits
2. A person or team actively seeking to win a competition or achieve a prize
3. An individual striving to defeat others within a competitive setting

Etymology: The etymology of "contender" is almost entirely a story about its suffix. The base verb "contend" came into English from Latin "contendere," meaning "to stretch out" or "to strive," and the "-er" ending is the familiar agent suffix that marks someone who performs an action. A contender is therefore simply one who contends, or strives against others. The suffix has a longer ancestry than the verb it attaches to. It traces back through Old French "-ier" and Latin "-arius," which denoted a person connected with a trade or role, and before that to Proto-Italic and Proto-Indo-European forms. Old English already had its own native "-ere" ending, which merged with the borrowed forms in Middle English. So the same little ending that makes "baker" and "writer" also sits at the end of "contender," a word built from Latin material and a suffix that arrived by several routes.

Synonyms: competitor, rival, challenger, opponent, entrant

Antonyms: non-contender, underachiever, loser, defeated, outsider