Definition of Contraction:

I believe my action item for last week was to attempt a definition of 
"contraction."  Here is what I have come up with:

1)    A word, as won't from will not, or phrase, as o'clock from of the 
clock, formed by omitting or combining some of the sounds of a longer 
phrase.
2)    The formation of such a word.
3)    The act or process of contracting, shortening, or shrinking; the 
state of being contracted; as, contraction of the heart, of the pupil of 
the eye, or of a tendion; the contraction produced by cold.
4)    (Math.) The process of shortening an operation.
5)    Something contracted or abbreviated, as a word or phrase; -- as, 
plenipo for plenipotentiary; crim. con. for criminal conversation, etc.
6)    (Gram.) The shortening of a word, or of two words, by the omission 
of a letter or letters, or by reducing two or more vowels or syllables 
to one; as, ne'er for never; can't for can not; don't for do not; it's 
for it is.


Cheers,
-kerstin