context

A2 Topic:Language & Linguistics

US /ˈkɑn.tɛkst/ UK /ˈkɒn.tɛkst/ See IPA manual

Freq #7980

Meanings

1

noun
The situation or set of facts that surround an event and help you understand it.

You need to understand the historical context to grasp the war's causes.
2

noun
The words around a particular word or phrase that help explain its meaning.

Without context, I can't tell whether 'dish' means a plate or the food on it.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the situation or set of... setting background circumstances

2 noun · the words around a... linguistic context

Opposites

isolation

Word family

Forms contexts

Derived forms context-dependentcontext-freecontext-sensitivecontextfulcontextlesscontextomykwickwocmacrocontextmetacontextmicrocontextout-of-context

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

linguistic context
the surrounding words and sentences that help establish an expression's meaning

Adjective + noun

Simplified etymology

Context, recorded from late Middle English, ultimately goes back to Latin texere “to weave,” also the source of text, texture, and textile.

Etymology

From Latin context(us).

*tetḱ- Proto-Indo-European contextus Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Language & Linguistics Actions & Processes Register & Style

External links

# context

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈkɑn.tɛkst/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈkɒn.tɛkst/
**Frequency rank:** 7980

## Meanings
1. The situation or set of facts that surround an event and help you understand it.
2. The words around a particular word or phrase that help explain its meaning.

## Examples
- You need to understand the historical context to grasp the war's causes.
- Without context, I can't tell whether 'dish' means a plate or the food on it.

## Antonyms
- isolation

## Derived Forms
- context-dependent
- context-free
- context-sensitive
- contextful
- contextless
- contextomy
- kwic
- kwoc
- macrocontext
- metacontext
- microcontext
- out-of-context

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *tetḱ-
- Root: contextus

## Etymology
From Latin context(us).

## AI Etymology
context is a noun, verb, and adjective. It is from Latin context(us). Historical forms in the chain include *tetḱ- (Proto-Indo-European) and contextus (Latin). Current senses include the situation or set of facts that surround an event and help you understand it and the words around a particular word or phrase that help explain its meaning. Derived forms include context-dependent, context-free, context-sensitive, contextful, and contextless.

## Topics
- Language & Linguistics
- Actions & Processes
- Register & Style

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