• vt. 争辩；提出质疑
• vi. 竞争；争辩
• n. 竞赛；争夺；争论

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。

来自柯林斯例句

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

这就使比赛精简到最基本的环节。

来自柯林斯例句

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

竞赛比手段策略，也比个性。

来自柯林斯例句

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。

来自柯林斯例句

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。

来自柯林斯例句