Contravene \kon-truh-VEEN\ (transitive verb) - 1 : To act or be counter to; to violate. 2 : To oppose in argument; to contradict.
"In 1620 most people considered the likelihood of reversing the seasons inside a building impossible, and many deemed it sacrilege, an attempt to contravene the natural order, to twist the configuration of the world established by God." -- Tom Shachtman, 'Absolute Zero and the Conquest of Cold'
Contravene comes from Late Latin contravenire , "to oppose," from Latin contra- , "against" + venire , "to come."
"In 1620 most people considered the likelihood of reversing the seasons inside a building impossible, and many deemed it sacrilege, an attempt to contravene the natural order, to twist the configuration of the world established by God." -- Tom Shachtman, 'Absolute Zero and the Conquest of Cold'
Contravene comes from Late Latin contravenire , "to oppose," from Latin contra- , "against" + venire , "to come."
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I see, the advent of air conditioning has MAID it possible "REVERSING the" SEXES "inside a building" possible, although "many deemed it sacrilege, an attempt to contravene the natural order, to twist the configuration of the world" !
ReplyDeleteSuppose that's better than all those opppressive layers of sweat-stained lingerie with which we males are now being forced to wear...