different between avouch vs contend

English

Etymology

From Old French avouchier, from Latin advoc?re, present active infinitive of advoc?. Doublet of advocate, advoke, and avow.

Verb

avouch (third-person singular simple present avouches, present participle avouching, simple past and past participle avouched)

1. To declare freely and openly; to assert.
   • 1596, Edmund Spenser, A View of the Present State of Ireland, Dublin: Hibernia Press, 1809, p. 76,^[1]

     Neither indeede would I have thought, that any such antiquities could have been avouched for the Irish, that maketh me the more to long to see some other of your observations, which you have gathered out of that country […]

   • c. 1605, William Shakespeare, Macbeth, Act V, Scene 5,^[2]

     If this which he avouches does appear,

     There is nor flying hence nor tarrying here.

2. To acknowledge deliberately; to admit; to confess; to sanction.
   • 1611, King James Version of the Bible, Deuteronomy 26:17-18,^[3]

     Thou hast avouched the Lord this day to be thy God, and to walk in his ways, and to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and to hearken unto his voice: And the Lord hath avouched thee this day to be his peculiar people, as he hath promised thee, and that thou shouldest keep all his commandments;
3. To confirm or verify, to affirm the validity of.
   • 1571, Arthur Golding, The Psalmes of David and others. With M. John Calvins Commentaries, “Epistle Dedicatorie,”^[4]

     For ( […] as the sorowfull dooings of our present dayes do too certeinly avouch) greate men hurt not the common weale so much by beeing evil in respect of themselves, as by drawing others unto evil by their evil example.

   • 1855, Henry Hart Milman, History of Latin Christianity, London: John Murray, Volume 2, Book 4, Chapter 7, p. 159,^[5]

     As a great public document, addressed to the whole Christian world by him who aspired to be the first ecclesiastic, we might be disposed to question its authenticity, if it were not avouched by the full evidence in its favour and its agreement with all the events of the period.

4. To appeal to; to cite or claim as authority.
   • 1628, Edward Coke, Institutes of the Lawes of England, Volume 1, Book 3, Chapter 5 “Of Estates upon Condition,” Section 350, p. 216,^[6]

     And for proofe of their opinion they avouch many successions of authorities that no fee simple should passe before the condition performed.

Related terms

• avouchment
• vouch

Translations

Noun

avouch (uncountable)

1. (obsolete) evidence; declaration
   • c. 1600, William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act I, Scene 1,^[7]

     Before my God, I might not this believe

     Without the sensible and true avouch

     Of mine own eyes.

English

Etymology

From Middle English contenden, borrowed from Old French contendre, from Latin contendere (“to stretch out, extend, strive after, contend”), from com- (“together”) + tendere (“to stretch”); see tend, and compare attend, extend, intend, subtend.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /k?n?t?nd/
• Rhymes: -?nd

Verb

contend (third-person singular simple present contends, present participle contending, simple past and past participle contended)

1. To strive in opposition; to contest; to dispute; to vie; to quarrel; to fight.
   • 1611, King James Version, Deuteronomy ii. 9

     The Lord said unto me, Distress not the Moabites, neither contend with them in battle.
2. To struggle or exert oneself to obtain or retain possession of, or to defend.
   • 17th century, John Dryden, Epistle III to the Lady Castlemain

     You sit above, and see vain men below / Contend for what you only can bestow.

3. To strive in debate; to engage in discussion; to dispute; to argue.

   • these simple ideas are far from those innate principles which some contend for

   • 1667, Richard Allestree, The Causes of the Decay of Christian Piety

     many of those things he so fiercely contended about , were either falle or trivial

4. To believe (something is reasonable) and argue (for it); to advocate.

   In this paper the author contends that no useful results can be obtained if this method is used.

Synonyms

• (strive in opposition): fight, combat, vie, oppose
• (struggle): struggle, strive, emulate (rare)
• (strive in debate): contest, litigate, dispute, debate
• (believe and argue): assert, aver

Related terms

• contender
• contention
• contentious

Translations

Further reading

• contend in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• contend in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.