contest

将“contest”联想成一个“con”形状的框框（contest），里面正在进行一场竞赛（test）。这样，每当想到“contest”时，你就能联想到一个比赛或测试的场景，有助于记忆。

contest 比赛

con-, 强调。-test, 见证，词源同attest, detest。字面意思即找人来作证的。

contest

contest: [16] The idea underlying contest, unlikely as it may seem, is of ‘bearing witness’. It goes back to Latin contestārī, a compound verb formed from the prefix com- ‘together’ and testārī ‘bear witness’, which in turn was derived from testis ‘witness’ (whence English testament, testicle, and testimony). This verb signified the bringing of a lawsuit by ‘calling witnesses together’ from both sides.

Hence was introduced the adversarial or competitive notion that passed into English, probably via Old French contester (although in the 16th and 17th centuries traces of the original Latin sense ‘bear joint witness, attest’ survived in English, presumably as a scholarly reintroduction).
=> testament, testicle, testimony

contest (v.)

c. 1600, from French contester "dispute, oppose," from Middle French, from Latin contestari (litem) "to call to witness, bring action," from com- "together" (see com-) + testari "to bear witness," from testis "a witness," (see testament). Calling witnesses as the first step in a legal combat. Related: Contestable; contested; contesting.

contest (n.)

1640s, from contest (v.).

1. The latest opinion polls are predicting a very close contest.

最近的民意测验预测竞争将会非常激烈。

2. This has stripped the contest down to its essentials.

这就使比赛精简到最基本的环节。

3. The contest was as much about personalities as it was about politics.

竞赛比手段策略，也比个性。

4. Gerald was no longer the odds-on favourite to win the contest.

杰拉尔德不再是有望赢得比赛的热门人选。

5. It is still a close contest between two leading opposition parties.

这仍然是两大主要反对党之间一场势均力敌的较量。

【contend, rival, contest, compete】
这组词都有“竞争”的意思，其区别是：
contend: 指为战胜或击败对手进行不懈努力，强调拼搏。也可指口头上进行有对立情绪或严重分歧的争论。
rival: 指在两方或多方的竞争或比赛中，谁都想战胜或比得上对手。
contest: 指为争夺土地、阵地、权力或荣誉等而展开的竞争。
compete: 普通用词，含义广泛。既可指体育活动等活动中争取优胜的相互竞争，也可指为了自己的利益与他人竞争。

【content, contrast, context, contest】
content: 内容；
contrast: 对比，差异；
context: 上下文
contest: 比赛，竞赛；

【contest, match, competition】
这组词都有“比赛，竞争”的意思，其区别是：
contest: 多指在音乐、书法、演讲等方面所进行的比赛或竞争。其结果，由评判委员会裁决。
match: 通常指体育运动项目的比赛，隐含势均力敌意味。
competition: 多指体育运动中的各项比赛、角逐，也指知识、技巧等方面的竞赛。