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1. Dictionary

   contingency

   /kənˈtɪn(d)ʒ(ə)nsi/

   noun

   • 1. a future event or circumstance which is possible but cannot be predicted with certainty: "a detailed contract which attempts to provide for all possible contingencies"
   • ▪ a provision for a possible event or circumstance: "stores were kept as a contingency against a blockade"
   • ▪ an incidental expense: "allow an extra fifteen per cent on the budget for contingencies"
   • ▪ the absence of certainty in events: "the island's public affairs can occasionally be seen to be invaded by contingency"
   • ▪ the absence of necessity; the fact of being so without having to be so.

   Word Origin mid 16th century (in the philosophical sense): from late Latin contingentia (in its medieval Latin sense ‘circumstance’), from contingere ‘befall’ (see contingent).

   Scrabble Points: 19

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