Contrarie

Part of speech: adjective, noun

Definitions

1. Opposed in nature, direction or effect to something else ; stubbornly inclined to disagree or act against what others expect ; the thing that is the reverse or opposite of something
2. Running counter to another thing in direction or character ; obstinately perverse and fond of opposing others ; a notion or thing that stands as the exact reverse of another
3. Set against something else in character, position or effect, like a force pulling the other way ; wilfully troublesome and inclined to resist whatever others suggest ; that which lies at the far opposite end from another thing

Etymology: Latin "contra" meant "against," and "contrarius" built on it to mean "opposite" or "facing the other way." French took this into "contraire," and English borrowed it during the Middle English period as "contrarie." Early English uses described things set against one another, such as a contrary wind blowing the wrong way or opinions pulling in opposite directions. The noun and adjective now sound different, a trace of the word's French route. As a noun, as in "on the contrary," it is stressed on the first syllable: CON-trary. As an adjective, as in "contrary opinions," the stress moves to the middle: con-TRAR-y. English often shifted stress this way between noun and adjective pairs borrowed from French and Latin, and this word still shows the pattern.