Protract

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /pɹəˈtɹakt/

Definitions

1. To stretch out the time over which an event occurs, often resulting in delays
2. To extend the length of time something continues beyond the expected limit ; to cause something to extend outward in space or to stretch it forward
3. To make a process or activity last longer than necessary ; to physically pull or extend something so that it is longer or more spread out

Etymology: Latin "prōtrahere" combined "prō-", meaning "forward," with "trahere," meaning "to draw" or "to pull," so the original sense was literally to drag something forward in space. The English verb "protract" keeps that physical picture in its history: a thing pulled out further along a line. Its meaning gradually shifted from stretching an object out in space toward stretching an event or process out in time, which is how the word is used today. The Latin verb "trahere" is also the ancestor of "tract" (as in a stretch of land) and "traction," so "protract" is closely related to words that describe drawing or hauling. Because the English word came from the past participle stem of the Latin verb, it carries the sense of a completed pulling-out, rather than an ongoing one.

Synonyms: extend, lengthen, prolong, stretch, drag out

Antonyms: shorten, curtail