contain

1. con- "together" + -tain.
2. => hold together, enclose.
3. 共同的拿到一起.

contain 包含

con-, 强调。-tain, 持，握，词源同detain, tension.

contain

contain: [13] Contain comes ultimately from Latin tenēre ‘hold’, source of a wide range of English words from abstain to tenor. In the case of contain the immediate ancestor, via Old French contenir, is Latin continēre ‘hold together, enclose, contain’, a compound formed with the prefix com- ‘together’. Contain still adheres fairly closely to the meaning of its Latin original, but other descendants, such as content, continent, continue, and countenance, have branched out a lot semantically.
=> abstain, content, continent, continue, countenance, retain, sustain, tenor

contain (v.)

late 13c., from Old French contein-, stem of contenir, from Latin continere (transitive) "to hold together, enclose," from com- "together" (see com-) + tenere "to hold" (see tenet). Related: Containable.

1. Our range of herbal teas contain no preservatives, colourings or artificial flavourings.

我们这一系列的药草茶不含防腐剂、色素以及人工调味品。

2. The offspring contain a mixture of the genetic blueprint of each parent.

子女身上遗传了父母双方的基因型板。

3. She bought a travel-bag large enough to contain the film canisters.

她买了一只能装得下那些胶卷筒的旅行包。

4. Seven fire brigades were deployed to contain the blaze.

7支消防队被派来控制火势。

5. The problem was that the exhaust gases contain many toxins.

问题在于废气中含有很多毒素。

【hold, contain, involve, embrace, comprise, comprehend, include】
这组词都有“包括，包含”的意思，其区别是：
hold: 常和contain换用。指能够容纳或有足够的容纳量。强调包容能力。
contain: 普通用词，所涉及的物体常常是其组成部分或内容。强调包容关系。既可指具体有形的东西，也可指抽象无形的东西。
involve: 把包含因整体的性质决定的成分或结果。所包括的往往是无形的，不可触知的东西，多用作引申。
embrace: 正式用词，指把某事物纳入整个之中。
comprise: 书面用词，暗指一个整体包括不同部分所组成，可与include交换使用。
comprehend: 正工用词，指包含在整体范围以内。
include: 普通用词，指一整体包含着各独立的部分，也指某东西包含另一东西的某一部分。

【constitute, cover, consist, contain, involve, compose】
constitute: 制定，设立，任命
cover: 覆盖，涉及
consist: 在于，存在于
contain: 包含，强调包容关系，既可指具体有形的东西，也可指抽象无形的东西
involve: 包含，所包括的往往是无形的，不可触知的东西，多用作引申
compose: 创作（乐曲、诗歌等）